Mass Effect: A journey through the Eons
by Casje
Summary: When a strange device capable of remarkable feats is found in the Martian ruins, the course of humanity's history changes forever. The resulting leaps and bounds in technology leave humanity well prepared to deal with the rest of the galaxy. AU
1. Prologue (Part 1): The Dark Era

Prologue (part 1): 2014-2057 – The Dark era

When the history of the humans as a species comes to the forefront of a discussion, the Dark Era is always brought up as one of the blemishes on an otherwise impeccable path towards ascension. Even though the actual dark history contained within this era would certainly prove to be proof for the destructive capabilities of the human race, it nonetheless portrays the adaptability and longing for survival our race inhibits. And it all started on the brink of the 21st century.

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><p>The turn of the millennia was pivotal point in human history. After nearly two centuries of heavy industrialization, we were finally starting to notice that our Earth was not as stable as we once believed it to be. We were changing the very atmosphere of our planet and by doing such; we were slowly but steadily destroying our own ecosystem. And if that wasn't enough, after two decades of peace after the cold war era, tensions started rising once more. Even though the Soviet Union had been disbanded in 1989, the newly formed Russian Federation started showing Soviet-like tendencies with its invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Even though the history books officially classify this conflict as a proxy war, it did throw a new ember into the recently extinguished fire of the Cold war. Man is like nature in that way, a fire tends to restart every so often before the blaze is finally halted.<p>

The renewed fire of tension gave way to new branches of research normally dubbed as too expensive or too limited to be of use for economic purposes. War was brewing once again, and every human soul knew it. Common human emotions as greed, envy, pride and contempt fuelled the fires of conflict day after day, slowly opening the pathway to destruction. Of course, looking back at this era, we realize now that it was this very development, our species being on the brink of annihilation, which shifted the psyche to one of nobler intentions.

The saddest part of this was that a branch which got this renewed funding was one that in all honesty should never have been used for internal wars. Space technology should always be focused on exploration and defence, never on destructive capability. But alas, in times of tension and conflict, destruction is exactly what is on the forefront of the military mind, and as such the developments made during these years had potential to destroy worlds as well as explore the outer reaches of our solar system.

A new space race started, as the Russian Federation, European Confederation, United States of America, and the Peoples' Republic of China all vied for orbital supremacy. Newly introduced were concepts that had been mere notions of science fiction a few years before, such as the orbital slingshot built in Southern Germany. Within a decade, all of the countries had performed their own "miracles" of space exploration. The Americans had been the first to successfully perform a manned Mars landing, whilst the Russians had been the first to have a functioning research outpost based on the surface of Luna. The Chinese had created the worlds' first SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit), a vehicle that would prove to be one of devastating destruction in the years to follow. Finally, the European Confederation pioneered a gigantic artificial gravity station that could provide living space for dozens of humans. The station was the first construct to have been built in orbit, instead of assembling the station from modules built on the surface.

But the space race brought more than just innovation in space. Where weapons of mass destruction had previously been airborne or surface-to-air bombs, orbital bombardments were now perfectly possible. The Chinese were in possession of a Nuclear Missile array capable of completely wiping out half of the American continent were it not for the anti-missile defence grid deployed by the U.S.A. All of the major powers had access to these kinds of weapons, and as tensions started rising over the ever-declining pools of fossil fuels, all across the globe humans started worrying about having their homes nuked from orbit.

The blazing roar of war finally came in 2029 CE, when the Peoples' Republic of China started demanding resources from their south-east Asian neighbours. Whilst a lot of the countries obliged, Malaysia refused China access to their resources. In response, the Chinese Army invaded Malaysia, occupying the entire country apart from Kuala Lumpur. In an act of desperation, the Malaysian government called on its Western Allies to help remove the Chinese menace from their soil. Well aware that interfering would likely spark a new world war, the European Confederation and the U.S.A. took over a month to came up with a proper diplomatic solution to the Asian Fuel Crisis, as the conflict had been dubbed by them. All of that changed when Chinese warships fired a city-buster class nuke on the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, killing over 98 percent of its inhabitants and effectively destroying any remnant of the Malaysian State.

This massive extermination of human life triggered an armed response of the E.C. and the U.S.A., who had both already fully mobilised its armed forces. The repulsion of Malaysia takes place ten days after the massacre of Kuala Lumpur, and the Western Allied Forces manage to repel the PRC army back to Thailand. But the Thai mainland proved to be hard to reach, as the natural bottleneck of the peninsula provided the Chinese with an ideal defensive position, of which they took full advantage. To make matters worse, after three weeks of fighting along the Malaysian border, the Russian Federation joined the conflict on the side of the PRC and launched a massive invasion of the European mainland. Whilst the Europeans had left their back guarded, it still came as a surprise that the Russians would actually attack them, and the initial casualties were skyrocketing.

With the war now being fought on two fronts, the E.C. provided extra funding into project S.A.B.R.E., which was an energy weaponry project. Initial results were promising, but far too crude to be implemented immediately. The first effective laser rifle did not see service until 2031 CE, just before the end of the war.

As the four war economies consumed the world's natural resources at an alarming pace, the remaining countries started suffering from problems as small as energy shortages to full scale famine. Most of the basic commodities the big four exported to the rest of the world were now being kept within borders, leading to a massive shortage of refined fuel, electricity, and food. These shortages spread through Africa and Southern America, destabilising countries in those regions, ultimately leading to a full economic collapse.

Whilst many of the worlds' nations were breaking down, the big fours' war raged on. After the Russian invasion of the European continent the Confederation Army launched a massive counterstrike against the Russian city of St. Petersburg, which was captured and continued to be a beachhead till the end of the war. At the same time the U.S.A. launched their invasion of China, landing at the port city of Hong Kong, which was easily captured. However, Hong Kong was ultimately an insignificant victory for the Allies, as China greenlighted use of the Orbital Missile Strikes.

The first cities to fall prey to the Chinese installations were on American soil, as the Anti-missile grid proved to be incapable of stopping every tactical nuke deployed by the Chinese army. Whilst the war in Europe was a deadly, but ultimately manageable land based war, the American-Chinese conflict turned into a full scale Nuclear Confrontation. Over the span of a year, numerous Chinese and American cities were completely reduced to rubble, with a staggering casualty count of over 200 million humans.

In Europe, the warfront shifted daily as cities were conquered and retaken on a whim. Both sides focused completely of offensive capabilities, but the E.C. was the first to realise that proper defensive tech would be the key to victory. In January of 2031, project S.A.B.R.E. released its first fully functioning laser rifle. The weapon was still too impractical to be used by infantry, but it provided defensive "nests" complete superiority. Within two months, all European cities were retaken piece by piece, and in April of 2031, the E.C. was ready to invade the Russian Federation. The invasion force met ever weakening resistance until the forces reached Moscow. Taking a hint from history, the march of Moscow took place in the summer, and it was history's first successful invasion of the Russian nation. Russia signed a peace treaty in July 2031, gifting the European Confederation a portion of the conquered Russian territory, including the city of St. Petersburg. The total casualties of the Euro-Russo conflict were just over 100 million, a fraction of the Chinese-American conflict.

The most destructive part of the war is now known as annihilation day, a day during which over half of the war's casualties were created. The day started with the last Chinese Nuclear assault on the U.S.A. West coast, during which Chinese hackers managed to cripple parts of the Anti-Missile defence grid. As a result most of the major US cities on the West Coast were reduced to rubble, with a death toll of just over 75 million. In a final push to end the Chinese terror, the U.S.A. unleashed a swarm of nuclear missiles on most of the Chinese coastal cities, killing over 200 million people. This final push was what ultimately led to the PRC's surrender, and the war was finally over.

Total score: Almost 600 million dead, more than 1 billion wounded and a quarter if the planet rendered inhabitable. To say it was a drastic was would be the understatement of the millennia, but humanity always rebuilds, even from catastrophes as devastating as the Third World War.

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><p>Following the war, Europe and Russia throw up a new iron curtain between their two nations, eerily reminiscent of the Cold war of the previous century. The team of project S.A.B.R.E. decides to found Sabre Industries on their discovery of energy based weaponry, their first contract having them supply the entire "curtain" with state-of-the-art weapons and defences. The company is split up into two sub companies, Sabre Weapons Co. and Sabre Energy Co., and the think tanks of the energy division pour all their funds into research on nuclear fusion reactors.<p>

Meanwhile the U.S.A. starts a massive land reclamation project to clean up the various states that burned under the nuclear flames. The process is slow, but over the next few years, significant portions of a few states are restored to semi-liveable conditions. However, almost half of the nation remains a Nuclear Wasteland. As terraforming and regrowth are on the forefront of the nations' mind, most of the annual budget is flushed into the project.

In South America the crippled states continue to fight each other in guerrilla warfare, struggling to control the ever declining supplies of fossil fuels. Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru merge into the nation of Gran Colombia to better combat the guerrilla raids of the Brazilians. During these years, images of the so called Jungle Wars shock humankind with their brutality, easily surpassing the brutality of the Third World War, which was much more destructive but not as merciless as the jungle wars. Sure, nuclear fire destroyed many lives, but seeing images of civilians being beheaded by vicious guerrillas still instils shock.

In stark contrast to South America, Africa starts climbing out of the gorge o poverty they had found themselves in for over two centuries. Under the leadership of Nigeria and South Africa, most of the Southern African and Middle African countries form the African Union. Large infrastructure projects are started with borrowed money from the European Confederation, and within five years the majority of Africa's infrastructure reaches a level acceptable enough for the European High tech firms to establish bases there.

Still struggling to reclaim land, the U.S.A. petitions the European Confederation for a joint mission to Mars to start terraforming the planet. The E.C. agrees, and proposes that the U.S.A. join the E.C. under the new name of the United Western Confederation. Patriotism spikes in the US, but ultimately the politicians agree to the formation of the Union, declaring that the financial benefits far outweigh the nationalist feeling of the nation.

In 2043, Sabre Energy Co. succeeds at Nuclear Fusion, and orders for the newly designed reactors skyrocket. The reactors also form the basis of the Martian Colonial Mission, as they allow for construction of more efficient spacecraft.

Scientist from all over the globe start flocking to the U.W.C. due to massive subsidies granted for research into almost every brand of science. The Mars Colonial Mission launches in 2047, with a fleet of over ten spacecraft journeying to Mars. As U.W.C. corporations start showing interest in space exploration, the government grants tax favours and subsidies to any citizens willing to join the Mars Colony.

When the Mars Colony mission landed near the Southern Icecaps, Colonists started flocking to the newly formed base using commercial spacecraft. Within two years the colony of Ares boasts a population of over 5000 people, most of them being scientists. The Martian Terraforming Foundation is formed, and donations from all over the U.W.C. enable the possibility of terraforming. Plans for large atmospheric generators are made, and the process of terraforming Mars starts two years later.

In 2054, genetically engineered lichen is introduced to the Martian soil after two years of changing the atmosphere. The algae survive, and start the natural process of photosynthesis, accelerating the terraforming.

One year later, a new colony is founded, named Novus. This colony is situated near the Promethei Planus region of Mars, a region that showed some Bermudaesque properties as probes and rovers sent into the area experienced some kind of technical malfunctions when operating in the area. Scientists find the source of the anomaly within a month, and the expedition sent to the site of the anomaly would change the fate of humankind forever…


	2. Prologue (Part 2): A temporal anomaly

**A/N**

**Hey guys, here's the next part of the prologue. After this chapter there will be one more timeline-ish prologue, and after that we'll get into the bulk of the story. I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read this, I had no idea that my story would reach a 1000 hits within 24 hours. You guys are awesome.**

**Now on a slightly more serious note, the subject of this story is revealed in this chapter. Some of you might like it, some of you might not, but it is essential to the plot, so please bear with me. Without further ado, let's go!**

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><p>Prologue (Part 2): A temporal anomaly<p>

Major Jason Walker was soldier first, and a scientist second, and the recent discovery of the anomaly near Novus provided the perfect opportunity to put both his skillsets to the test. As such, he had immediately signed up for the scientific expedition that was set to leave for area surrounding the anomaly. They would be travelling using three ATARV-class _(All Terrain Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle)_ rovers, which had become common use of transportation on Mars since the decline of fossil fuel use on Earth. Since the newly founded Martian government actually welcomed the use of fossil fuels to further the terraforming of the Martian atmosphere, a lot of fossil fuel using vehicles had been shipped to the planet over the last couple of years, the WW3-Era ATARV rovers being among of them.

The town of Novus, or rather research base, was quickly turning into a major scientific hub as a couple of the most brilliant minds from Ares had decided to take their research here. Their labs had been assembled within days using the base segments typical of a Confederation outpost, and after only one and a half months of existence the colony of Novus was dotted with the constructs. When the anomaly had been discovered, one of the newer labs had almost immediately been designated as the Expedition Outpost Alpha, its task being to organise a scientific expedition to the site.

As Walker reached the outpost on the outskirts of Novus, he recognized one of his former squad mates, who had apparently signed up for the expedition as well.

"Jackson, 't's been to long mate", he exclaimed as he walked up to the man who gawked at him as only a former member of U.S. Navy Delta Squad could. The two of them had fought the Chinese in Thailand 20 years ago, and both of them still suffered from the entire ordeal.

"No way,… Walker? What on earth has gotten into that big head of yours? For me to find you here, of all places," Jackson said as he walked up to his friend, greeting him with a familiar man-hug.

"Well I reckoned this expedition would require a little extra security, and as I have access to certain data files…," he stated, feeling rather smug that he still had Class three access to military archives, having been away from Earth for over a year now.

"Of course you do Walker," Jackson grunted.

"Well, enough about me, what on Earth… or rather Mars, are you doing here Jackson? Last time I saw you was after the "Hell", and I thought I heard you say that you were completely done with the job…,"Walker said boisterously.

"Times change, I signed up again," he said as he looked at Jason. "On that note, I noticed your rank Walker. Might have to start calling you "sir" now," he added.

Jason eyed his mate suspiciously, "Well, we can't have that now, can we? You'd be acting according to regulations, and I can't really remember you ever doing that before Jackson," he joked.

Jackson grinned, and the two of them started discussing the possible source of the anomaly, when the commander of expedition beckoned them to enter one of the outpost's halls. The hall was lined with folding chairs, and there was a makeshift stage with a large screen showing a map of the Martian surface. Most of the personnel still hanging around the base quickly streamed in and took their seats; Jackson and Walker did the same. When most of the researchers and soldiers had found a seat, two people went up to the stage, one of them an obvious military officer, and the other one looking like an overenthusiastic scientist. The officer started a quick speech.

"Alright boys, I'll keep this short and simple. My name is Colonel Grant, Confederation Air Force. I am your commanding officer from this moment forth. You all signed up for the Martian Expeditionary Force, which is a subdivision of the United Western Army. You will henceforth address me with "Sir", and you are expected to follow your orders without questions," the commander stated, "Now, on to today's matter. At 04:00 this morning the Novus relay station picked up some anomalies from an area a few clicks west of here, known to most of you as the Promethei Planum. After scanning the area using probes in low Martian orbit, our scientists determined that the anomalies originated from this particular dune," the colonel said as he showed them a map of the local area surrounding the particular dune, "Pictures taken a few years ago have been cross-referenced, and have shown that this dune has retained its shape despite the major storm that passed this area two years ago. Our researchers concluded that the general area has to be mapped by man in order to get more reliable data on the anomaly."

"Now listen to me. Whilst I know that most of you expect the anomaly to be some kind of natural phenomenon, there is always a possibility that we are dealing with an artificial construct. If such a situation does occur, we will initiate Unknown Entity Protocol. A part of this protocol deals with first contact situations; in the event of first contact, myself and Doctor Keldrop here will be handling the situation. However… that does mean that the lot of you will be in charge of security. In the unlikely scenario that such a situation would occur, you will report to Major Jason Walker, who is your second in command. Understood?" the man said with a fervour that was only found in pure-bred military men.

"Sir, yes sir," the group said uniformly, after which they were instructed to get into the three ATARV rovers.

Soon after the three rovers started roaring as their oversized engines blazed to life, and the three vehicles started their journey west. ATARV rovers were ideal in the dusty Martian environment, as they almost completely ignored the fine grains that usually made machines go haywire within a couple of hours. The trip through the dunes was rather uneventful apart from the sight of occasional dust clouds on the horizon. The the rovers came to a stop at the site of the "freak" dune, and all the expedition could see was dunes, dunes and more dusty hills. That was, until a particular Martian gust blew into one of the closer dunes, revealing some kind of rocky structure.

"Looks like we found our source," Keldrop said to the Colonel with a happy sigh, glad that the trip had not been in vain.

The colonel nodded, and ordered his men get ready and gear up as he jumped out of the rover. The soldiers soon followed suit, and a squad of 30 heavily armed men, all ex-military or still serving, got out of the rovers using the rear hatch. Each soldier was equipped with Ceramic Slate armour, a standard issue XA33-Laser Rifle and a LTX1-Laser pistol. Both weapons were military grade energy weapons capable of burning through metal within seconds.

The soldiers performed their ritual of clearing the area before beckoning the scientists to leave the rovers and join the expedition force. Most of the scientists were wearing Martian hazard-suits, capable of providing their wearers with fresh air and direct environmental feedback. Even though the process of terraforming had been going on for a couple of years now, reasonable predictions had said that it would still take at least two decades before the Martian atmosphere resembled anything that was breathable.

"Ahh, feels good to have my baby back," Jason said happily as he examined the Laser rifle. It was the same weapon he had used during his last mission in Chinese territory three years ago, dealing with new communist upstarts provoking the masses to refuel the fires of war, and it still felt as deadly as ever.

"You bet, Walker," Jackson said while grinning at his mate. "Let's do this without destroying the base this time!"

Jason looked at his friend with a hurtful look, shook his head, and walked towards the colonel who was calling his men to him.

When all the soldiers were in front of the colonel, he ordered them to start hauling some scientific equipment to the rocky structure. "Let's give the doctor something to work with," he said as he kept his gaze locked onto his men. It took a couple of walks for all the tools to be moved, but when they were all finally in place Keldrop started prodding the structure with a small probe-like instrument, which emitted a very faint wave of light each time it touched the structure. It took a couple of minutes for the doctor to scan the structure, until he finally stood up and addressed the men behind him.

"Well, it appears we have found something very interesting here. My subterranean scanner tells me this formation of rocks is actually a structure, about 50 meters deep and divided into 20 sublevels, so it's going to take us a while to search it all. What was also very interesting is that the structure appears to be built around some kind of sphere-like construction. My guess would be that it is a gigantic generator or something of the like, so please refrain from activating any systems when we're inside. The entrance, luckily, is right in front of us," he said as he touched a small panel that started vibrating. "Hmm, weird material," he mumbled as he studied the structure.

A few of the scientists started whispering nervously as they realised what they were dealing with here, but there was also a brim of excitement in the air.

As soon as the panel stopped vibrating, a small door, wide enough for exactly two men to enter side by side, opened and gave way to a dark passage. At first most of the men looked very nervous, but they soon regained their stoic stance as the colonel ordered them to enter. Walker and Jackson were to take point, which they did without hesitation, and the 30 men started entering the ruins.

"Wonderful, the structure appears to be completely intact," the doctor whispered as he entered the ruins with the colonel at his side.

"Please be quiet doctor, my men are trying to sweep the structure," the colonel grunted, indicating his men to activate their night vision. The ruins were drowned in complete darkness, and there didn't appear to be any kind of light source nearby.

"Room clear," Jason declared as the men reached another door which led to a construct that looked like some kind of elevator. However, it seemed to be useless without some kind of power source.

"Well doctor, it seems you have a job to do," the colonel said as he looked at the grinning doctor.

"It does seem so, Grant. Can you provide some lighting," he asked as he was already studying most of the room.

"Men, lights," the colonel said with a commanding tone, and soon after the room was flooded with lights from the portable light sources that were common in a soldier's gear. As the room was lit up, Walker looked at some kind of pad next to the elevator door, and he assumed it had to be the elevator control panel. With his curiosity getting the best of him, he touched it…

The room flared as faint lines along the wall suddenly started emitting bluish light.

"Walker," the colonel swore as he glared at his second, "How many times does it take for you to follow simple orders. You heard the doctor. Don't. Touch. Anything," he finished.

"Grant, it doesn't matter; the man seems to have activated the backup system, but not the primary generator. It is exactly what I was trying to do," the doctor told the colonel, who looked really tense at the moment.

"Walker, from now on you don't touch. Is that clear," Grant said as he glared at Walker. "And that goes for the rest of you as well. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir," the men said in unison.

The expedition was split up into three groups, as no more than ten or eleven men could fit in the "elevator". The first group consisted of the heavy assault team, meant for clearing any resistance and sweeping the entire base, and was led by Colonel Grant himself. The second group consisted of the doctor, Jackson, Walker and eight other men including four of the researchers. The squad's purpose was documentation, meaning that they would study each and every curiosity they would come across. The last group consisted of the men that returned to the entrance of the ruins to keep it clear and protect the rovers, whilst the remaining two scientists studied the entrance chamber.

Soon after Walker received Grant's all clear signal over the radio, he beckoned his men to enter the elevator, and they started their descent. The elevator seemingly travelled all the way to the bottom level, where Colonel Grant was waiting for them.

"Doctor, the entire facility has been swept. We encountered no life forms, so a contact scenario is highly unlikely at the moment. Most of the rooms are living quarters of some kind, but there is a central data lab with an access panel or something of the like that looks over the sphere-like construct you told us about. I assume you'd wish to visit this lab?" he said as he looked at the doctor questioningly.

"Seems like a plan, Grant," the doctor said wearily, clearly disappointed that hadn't been the one to see it all first. "Walker, come with me if you will. The rest of you, team up and take a look at some of the other rooms."

Jackson and Walker nodded, and the group split up, with Grant leading the doctor and Walker to the lab they discovered. It was large room with a couple of consoles surrounding some kind of table, with something that resembled a master console overlooking the sphere. The rest of the room was filled with large data banks of some kind. The doctor's eyes grew wide as he took it all in.

"Impressive, and the state of these machines… almost pristine. This has to be the single most important discovery mankind has ever made," the doctor said as he walked over to the master console. "I wonder, what will happen if I touch this," he said as he looked at Grant.

"Go ahead Doctor, we have a medic standing by," the Colonel said wearily.

Doctor Keldrop then proceeded to touch the master console, but nothing happened. At least, that was what the doctor thought, until the room suddenly lit up and the sphere started vibrating ever so slightly. The master console then started showing signs of life, and some kind of holographic interface appeared, together with a strange sound.

_"__Oltaa ins tra Macta, elsus da surastra," _the machine said, or at least something of the like.

"Incredible," the doctor exclaimed, "How do you work? How do you function? I am doctor Keldrop," he added.

"Hello," the machine stated, and Keldrop's eyes grew wide with wonder.

"Are you an A.I.," he asked, eying the machine quizzically. "And how come you suddenly speak English?"

The console flared, before the voice stated: "My name is irrelevant, but in your terminology I would be classified as a virtual intelligence. You may address me with Gatekeeper, as it is my function within this complex."

Walker was watching the exchange of information with two thoughts. One, he figured it was extraordinary that they had just found proof of actual alien life, and two, he was suddenly very wary for any kind of ambush.

"My knowledge of your languages was gathered over the ages, and I assumed this format would be most applicable to the group of organics currently before me," the machine stated. "I am Gatekeeper to this facility, and have watched the progress of your species with great interest, but your path is still a long one. My creators left a message for you, and I will play the recording of this message," the machine said as a large holographic screen appeared in front of the console.

"Greetings, Humans. I am Jagrad, lead researcher of this facility, and have recorded this message as an emergency procedure. At this very moment, my species is being exterminated by beings that are completely beyond our comprehension, at least concerning their motives. We have concluded that our species is doomed, and to save a particular project in this base, my researchers and I will leave your system soon. The contents of this base will be stripped apart from the machine, which is of vital importance to your survival."

As the machine continued its message, every eye in the room was watching the screen intently.

"The purpose of this facility was to experiment with bending the space-time continuum around a solar system in such a way to increase the speed of time passing within the system by a certain factor. This means that while a year would pass on the outside of the star system, the time inside the system would amount to, for example, 10.000 years, leaving us with ample time to find a solution to our galactic extermination. However, our civilization was completely destroyed before we were able to finish the experiment. Right now, there are only six of us left in this facility, which is not enough to create a new civilization. However, we have been able to complete the core machine and the outer satellites are finished as well. We will place those in their appropriate locations as we leave the system. Use this extra time to save your own people," the alien on the screen said, before the message was ended and the screen disappeared.

Keldrop jumped up and stared at the machine, before turning his gaze to Grant and Walker. "You realize what this means right," he asked them. "This means this facility is the most advanced piece of technology ever discovered, and must be kept secret. I'd daresay we should only inform the leaders of our country what the exact function of the device is, before we turn it on. Because I do think that would be a very wise decision, give us more time, more "safe" time," the doctor finished.

"Whoah, hold on there, doc," Walker said as he looked at his commander. "We can't just go ahead and activate this. What if it doesn't function properly and turns our entire planet into one gravitational mess. You'd kill off the entire human race with a push on a button."

"Mister Walker," the machine started, "The function of the Chronosphere has been tested on your system already. It was one of my tasks before going into hibernation mode. The satellite positions are still perfect. It would do your species no harm. I will show you a recording of this test."

The screen then came back and showed the three men a video of the sphere blazing to life, intensely vibrating and emitting a faint blue light into its chamber. It showed a clock of the time passed, which ended after 10.000 seconds. The machine then went on to show the galactic drift that had occurred in those 10.000 seconds, and it showed that barely any drift had taken place. The machine estimated the time of drift at 1.003434 seconds, with a 20% margin of error. All in all, it was ample evidence of the machines functionality.

"Seems like it's working fine, Walker," the doctor said, "We need to inform the president right away. This machine is a gift, and one we shouldn't waste!"

Colonel Grant was watching the two men intently, before he stated that the president had to be informed indeed. The colonel then proceeded to set up a direct link with Brussels, capitol of the U.W.C.

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><p><em>Brussels, Presidential offices, 16.55 PM<em>

"Mr. President, I have a colonel Grant that wishes to speak with you. Shall I put him through to your office, or do you wish to take his call in the conference room," the presidential secretary asked.

"Grant, you say," _Hmm, he's the one on Mars at the moment if I recall correctly. Probably has something to do with that anomaly they found. _"Put him through to the office Maria, this is a private call," the president said.

The president walked into his office and sat down, as he opened his personal communicator, and confirmed the link to Grant.

"Good afternoon Colonel, what did you find," the president asked curiously.

"Good afternoon Mr. President. We found what the good doctor here calls the single most advanced discovery in the history of the human race. I'll let him explain it personally, sir," the colonel said.

"Good day Mr. President. My name is Doctor Hugo Keldrop, and I'm the leading scientist of this expedition. What we found here wouldn't have even come to me in my wildest dreams. The anomaly turned out to be an ancient alien research facility. The facility is completely intact, pristine even. It contains research on an experiment conducted by an ancient alien race that meddled with time itself. There is a virtual intelligence here that has shown us a lot of things. Can you believe that sir? A working VI…." The doctor said in one of those typically scientific rambles. "Sorry sir, excuse my manners. Basically, we found a gift of time. The machine in this facility is called a Chronosphere, and in conjunction with a couple of satellites that are drifting at the edge of our solar system, it can create a bubble of spacetime around the system. I don't understand the complete workings, but what it does is change the relative amount of time passed within and outside of this bubble. We can have 10.000 years for every year on the outside…!"

The president gawked at his tablet. What he had just heard completely overwhelmed him. First, it was proof of extra-terrestrial life, second it was an intact facility, and now it was some kind of crazy experiment. How should he handle this? It was clear to him that the doctor believed it should be activated immediately, but that was a rash course of action. They would need time to discuss this with other world leaders. Of course, it looked to be a very promising instrument, but they would need to play their cards right to get it done. The current chaos still prevalent throughout most of South America and Asia meant that the leaders of those countries weren't ready for full disclosure. No, only parts of Oceania and the African Union would hear from him, and together they would take this monumental decision.

"Calm down doctor, you must understand that I can't decide the fate of the planet right now, because that is what you're asking me is it not. I do have some ideas on how to handle this situation. Colonel, you are free to explore the facility, but under no circumstance are you allowed to activate this machine. Understood," he said with a tone that could only be described as resolute.

"Understood sir, I'll do as you say. You heard that Keldrop, we wait," the colonel said quietly. "Grant out."

The president sat back, and started tossing ideas around about his unification project that was rapidly forming in his mind.

* * *

><p><em>Mars, Alien Ruins, 17:05 PM<em>

Doctor Keldrop looked disappointed, but then he realized that the president was realistic, and activating the machine now would be a rash and stupid decision. He looked up and started formulating ideas in his head, and realized he still had a lot of questions for the VI.

"Gatekeeper, can you answer some questions of mine," he asked the machine.

"My responses are limited Mr. Keldrop. My creators created my program with a single purpose, to protect the Chronosphere and insure it is always in working condition. If your queries are related to the chromosphere in any way, I can answer, but if you have questions about the civilization or technology my creators used, my only answer is this: "All information was purposely deleted by lead scientist Jagrad. He left one more explanatory message. Should I play said recording now?" the machine asked.

Keldrop nodded, and the holographic screen came to life once more.

"Ah, I see you are a curious one. This message is intended to explain the lack of technology except for the Chronosphere. It was due to our civilization developing along a certain predetermined technological path that we could be destroyed so easily. Therefore, for your species to survive, you must develop along a different path. You must learn to be completely independent of the Element. Only this will give you a chance. There is a construct made by our destroyers orbiting the smallest of your planets, at edge of this system. I advise you to rip it apart, and ignore the technology, as it will only set you upon the path you must not follow. Use the material, but not the technology. All of our technology has been removed for the same reason."

Keldrop looked flabbergasted. Another alien construction in the solar system, and this Jagrad wanted him to destroy it. Now there was something that would never ever happen. But he did gather that his words made sense, and the doctor made himself a mental note to never replicate technology. Humanity would create its own destiny.

* * *

><p><strong>And there we go, the Chronosphere has been introduced. In the next timeline-ish part I'll be going over the millenia spent under its influence. After that we'll get into the bulk of the first story arc. I have already drafted a few of the upcoming chapters, so you can expect an update this week.<strong>


	3. Prologue (Part 3): Time is relative

**Alright folks, here's the next one!**

**One comment I have to make concerns a part of this chapter where the discovery of the Mass Relay is detailed. I find it utterly ridiculous that the Sol Relay would be contained within Charon, given how large this particular moon is. (1200 km diameter) Therefore, I changed it to the relay being a ball of ice orbiting Charon.**

**This is the last time-line chapter, as after this I will start with the first real story arc.**

**Hope you all enjoy it! (Feel free to ask questions in your reviews)**

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><p>Prologue (Part three): Time is relative<p>

One year after the discovery of the time-dilation device known as the Chronosphere the Confederation Government gave the green light for activation. It had taken the President months to convince the few world leaders that had been briefed on the situation, but after having seen the Gatekeeper VI perform another small scale test of the device, most of them were convinced the device was safe. Upon activation of the device, a faint ripple could be noticed throughout the solar system, spreading from the Promethei Planum on Mars until the outer edges of the Sol system past the Kuiper belt. If you'd look at the system from the outside, it'd look blurry and unclear, as every movement within was operating on a different clock.

The years after the Chronosphere were numerous and tumultuous, starting with the great reclamation of the Western US states. Lessons learned on Mars enabled the Confederation government to develop a biological agent capable of removing leftover radiation, as it literally fed on it. It still took over two decades to completely reclaim the lost land, but in the end, the American soil was restored to its former glory. The agent introduced made many species within the irradiated lands slightly more resistant to radiation, and the national flora and fauna quickly reclaimed the land.

The U.W.C. continued its policy of heavily funding scientific endeavours, as most of the other sectors of labour were shrinking quickly. The field of robotics, already being one of the more developed fields, completely automatized heavy industry, and the days of having factory workers were over. Of course, engineers and mechanics were still employed, but most of the now unemployed were given free re-education to join the ever growing scientific forces of the U.W.C.

On Mars the colonies were quickly developing heavy industry, and the city of Ares was rapidly becoming an industrial powerhouse, supported by the scientific ventures of the scientists in Novus. Mars provided the U.W.C. with the funds to continue its re-education campaign without bankrupting itself, and by 2070 the colony boasted over 200.000 inhabitants. The rapid technological progression within the Confederation did not go unnoticed, as in 2073 the African Union petitioned for membership. Even though the Union could not provide the U.W.C. with new technology, the Confederation government saw potential in the African people and mostly the land. A proposal was filed to the Union that they would be allowed to join, on the condition that they would allow the U.W.C. to expand food production capabilities onto the African Continent. Whilst a lot of Africans saw this as a move to make the Union a client state of the U.W.C., the proposal was accepted nonetheless.

The years 2073-2098 were known as the great African restoration, with U.W.C. farms providing enough food to become a completely self-sufficient nation. Many Africans joined the confederation re-education programs, and by 2098 Saharan Tech labs were no uncommon sight. Poverty still existed of course, but every effort was made to alleviate to suffering of the poor within the U.W.C.

The original expedition members were well known individuals within the confederation, Dr. Hugo Keldrop being the foremost of them. The doctor dedicated his life to study of the Chronosphere, which had become common knowledge within the U.W.C.'s scientific community. The destruction of the Martian aliens, who were named Protheans, was also a hot topic of study within the community, as their fate was one that humanity wished to avoid at all costs. Keldrop produced numerous scientific studies, but his "_A study of time and relativity"_ was the one that got him famous.

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><p><em>(Exerpt from: "A study of time and relativity")<em>

_…_

_Time is, in essence, one of the most difficult physical concepts to get a proper grasp on. Whilst a simple application or usage of time as physical unit is centuries old, the concept of spacetime is still relatively new to mankind. The theories, of course, have existed for almost two centuries, but any probable application using the phenomena known as the spacetime continuum has eluded us. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of any study-able objects manipulating this continuum within our current research base. At least, that is one of the hindrances humanity faced until the discovery of the Chronosphere on Mars. The exact functioning of the machine still eludes us, but a general knowledge of the objects functioning does exist._

_If the Spacetime continuum within our solar system would normally be represented as a flat plate with slight bubbles around the heavier objects such as planets and the sun, it could now be represented as a giant white hole, with the original representation of the continuum still present within this white hole. Humanity has surmised theories about time dilation when nearing a black or white hole, stating that that the curvature of space time around objects of a high enough mass leads to a longer traveling path for any kind of matter. It would produce an effect known to man as time dilation, with the relative time passed between matter on the longer curved route being lower than for matter not on this curved path. If this effect is reversed by the presence of an extremely negative mass, the effects would, in theory, be completely opposite._

_However, this in turn would lead to a large problem, as nothing made of positive mass would actually be able to get close to the negative singularity present within a white hole. White holes are known to be emitters of mass, repelling everything that approaches them. In order for positive time dilation to work, one must be inside this field, almost like living inside the singularity. This is what I guess the Chronosphere does; it places our solar system within a "singularity" of an artificial white hole, introducing a temporal difference between Sol and the rest of the galaxy. My guess is that the outer satellites function as field stabilisers, but in all honesty their exact function still eludes the best of us._

_This brings me to one of my arguments concerning the Prothean technology. Recent studies concerning the unknown element found close to the Prothean base have shown the effect of this element (dubbed Element Zero, or Nillium) being introduced to an electric charge. This charge, in combination with Eezo, creates a field that can actually alter mass properties of matter. This would suggest that by introducing a strong enough negative charge to the Eezo, it could theoretically be possible to create negative mass, and in turn, the opposite of time dilation._

_The energy requirements for such a machine would be immense, and recent scans have shown that the chronosphere operates using a set of generators buried deep within the Martian crust. It leads to the assumption that the Protheans would have to have been near-complete masters of this "mass-effecting" technology, as time manipulation is, in essence, the most advanced form of mass manipulation._

_…_

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><p>Over the next fifty years, Sabre Energy Co. improved its fusion generators in such a fashion that by 2140 the entirety of the U.W.C. was powered by fusion energy. Most of the other countries didn't enjoy such luxuries yet, but efforts were being made to include them in the confederation. Formal declarations of cooperation made between Oceania and the U.W.C. were soon followed by them joining the U.W.C. In 2156 the majority of Asia joined the confederation, leaving only China, the Southern American countries and the Middle East as independent regions.<p>

2164 marked another great occasion for humanity, as the Martian atmosphere, after having undergone terraforming efforts for over a hundred years, had reached a point where its atmosphere became breathable and non-toxic for humans. The magnetic field problem had already been solved in 2068, when a giant electromagnetic installation powered by fusion energy was built at various "hotspots" on the Martian surface. For the first time in history, humanity had changed a planet from a dull and barren rock into a new, vibrant ecosystem. The domed cities of Ares and Novus celebrated this huge milestone by formally opening the domes, and images of Martian children enjoying the fresh breeze of Martian air could be seen all across the Earth. Tourism to the "red" planet boomed, as the species of plant and animal introduced to the planet had adjusted to planetary life rather quickly, and the weather patterns of the planet had produced an already famous natural wonder, the Crater Lakes.

Traffic between Mars and Earth was booming due to the invention of artificial gravity systems and inertial dampeners, and the local news agencies started dubbing it the space highway, but travel was still relatively slow, as the scientists hadn't cracked the light speed question yet. Modern ships were capable of reaching Mars within a day, and the really good ones were capable of pushing it to just over 18 hours. Secondary colonization plans were in the make, as the U.W.C. had set its sights on Venus as the next to-be garden world in the Sol system. The first human standing on the Venusian surface planted the U.W.C. flag in 2178, marking the start of the next planetary project.

Whilst most of humanity's view was pointed towards the endless abyss that is space, other scientific branches started reporting major breakthroughs as well. One of the more interesting finds was the telomere-regenerating therapy, a medical treatment that effectively increased the resilience of cells against splitting. On average, the therapy gave humans another fifty years to live, given that one didn't fall prey to a major disease, as many of those still existed despite humanities' best efforts. The ultimate disease-ending solution still eluded us, but many of the scientists were quite certain that it would be found eventually.

In 2183, Earth's population was reaching a tipping point at 22 billion. Smart housing systems within the U.W.C. did all they could to extend to population cap present on Earth, but it could only go so far. Because Mars was looking more like Earth every day, the U.W.C. had concluded that it was time for another push into space, and as such, it introduced huge financial bonuses to any civilians willing to leave the Earth and settle on Mars. The result was staggering, and subsequently called the great migration, as over 7 billion people agreed to leave the planet within the next two decades. Martian construction was booming, and although providing proper infrastructure for the incoming civilians was one hell of a job, it was made possible through great feats of cooperation.

By the end of the year 2207, Martian population had reached 7.5 billion, living in various "smart" multilevel cities that dotted the planet surface. Food production was starting to become an obstacle however, as most of food produced in Africa had to stay on Earth. In typical human fashion, a solution to the problem was found before it could become too severe. Thanks to gene-manipulation therapies and artificial food production, humanity was able to build a giant food machine beneath the Martian surface, with thousands of square km's of "super farms" and protein-processing plants.

A grand milestone in human history came in 2238, when the last remaining countries on Earth were finally included in the U.W.C, which was renamed the Terran Confederation in honour of the humongous achievement. Humanity would stand as one against the threats the galaxy could and would pose.

Over the course of the next two hundred years, humanity kept advancing in the various existing research fields, but one of the most interesting developments was the creation of the first proper artificial intelligence, although many among humanities' scientists still argue if this creation was solely our species' triumph or the Protheans' as well. To create the first A.I., humanity had linked various supercomputers with the Prothean Gatekeeper V.I., giving the "entity" more room to expand its processes. They had introduced various smaller programs and databases to the V.I., and after an assimilation process that took nearly 20 years, Gatekeeper entered a form of true intelligence upon asking about the nature of his existence. Humanities new A.I. soon became capable of handling more processes than just the operation of the Chronosphere, and one of the more interesting events surrounding this change are the so-called Gatekeeper Series, where a news program actually interviewed the Gatekeeper for all of the world to see.

* * *

><p><em>(Segments of the Gatekeeper Series, March 2402)<em>

_"__Please welcome humanity's first A.I., Gatekeeper. He has agreed to answer some of the questions that have been hounding your minds, and tonight we will finally learn these truths."_

_The interviewer switched on a screen link to Mars, which showed to Prothean hologram live, as the signal delay between Earth and Mars was only .1 seconds due to Fast-buoy communications. _

_"__Gatekeeper, would you care to answer one simple question to start? Why did the Protheans create the Chronosphere in our solar system?" asked the interviewer._

_"__The exact reason of its construction was not embedded into my data banks, but during the years I worked with doctor Jagrad, I overheard, on more than one occasion, that he believed your species had potential. The original purpose for all Chronosphere experiments was to provide a safe bastion of hope to the Prothean people, but it is the one objective that we failed to accomplish."_

_"__Interesting," the host said as he moved on to the next question, "Now, one thing that has been burning in all our minds is the existence and purpose of the "machines". Who are they, and why do they do what they did to the Prothean people?"_

_"__This question can only be answered partially, as the purpose of the "machines", which we dubbed reapers, eluded us. They are very large synthetic life forms, ranging from 100 meters tall to over 2 kilometers. All of the Reapers are sentient "ships" so to speak, as they are all capable of Faster-than-light travel. These ships attack organic life as soon as galactic civilization has evolved to certain level of advancement, and civilizations that the developed along the "Mass-effect" technological path, as the Protheans did, become trapped in their own empire."_

_"__Yes, about that trap, how many Mass Relays exist?"_

_"__My databanks do not contain exact numbers, but since gaining my sentience I have run an analysis of the Relay network. I concluded that there are no more than 600 to 800 prime Relays, and about twenty to forty thousand secondary relays. The prime pairs are located all over the galaxy, providing certain pre-determined hubs if you will. In all honesty the Relay network covers less than ten percent of the total amount of stars within the Milky Way galaxy, but for some reason the "Reapers" still manage to harvest civilizations every cycle. My guess for this would be that every civilization has an extremely high chance of encountering M.E. technology, and as it is the "easy" path, civilizations adopt this path with ease."_

_"__Well, that's certainly something we'll try to avoid then. Do you have an estimate of the number of Reapers?" the host asked interested._

_"__No, my databanks were not filled with military logistics. But a simple calculation would show that there have to be millions or even billions of them in order to efficiently harvest a species."_

_…_

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><p>The Gatekeeper Series are one of the reasons that every single human within the Sol system knows about the fate of historic galactic societies. They are also one of the reasons that humanity started preparing for war soon after the unification of Earth.<p>

These two-hundred years also included the proper colonization and terraforming of Venus, which had grown quickly from a small frontier colony into a hub of its own right. Almost a billion people called Venus their home in 2403 and more flocked to the Venusian lands every day. Apart from Venus Asteroid Mining Companies were also popping up all across the Solar System, which provided the human economy with a giant influx of resources.

500 years after the activation of the Chronosphere humanity's progress was staggering. Research into advanced genetics had increased human lifespan to just over 300 years, and most formerly lethal diseases had become chronic. New mega-engineering projects were being started nearly every day, as living space was once more becoming scarce. Skyscrapers extended as much below ground as they shot up into the sky, and it wasn't uncommon to have apartment spires measure more than 4 km's from top to bottom. To accommodate the travel needs of the massive population on Earth and Mars vacuum sealed Mag-Lev lines were built, effectively reducing travel times between cities by hours compared to conventional "Airborne" travel.

In 2567 one of humanity's foremost researchers published a study on human population growth, and concluded that even if humanity was to terraform and colonize all four of the Galilean Moons, Triton, Titan and Luna, it would still run out of habitable space within three thousand years. Orbital stations would be able to provide some relief, but in order to sustain human population until the LEAP (Official name for Chronosphere de-activation), the best course of action was to build an Ecumenopolis-type planet within the solar system. The particular researcher argued that while the methods of planetary construction were still beyond the skills humanity possessed, leaps in technology over the next thousand years would make this endeavour possible. Most of the scientific community embraced this plan, and it was named project HAVEN, and it included several of the artificial worlds specialised in certain areas. In total four planets were planned by the project leaders, one ecumenopolis to house most of humanity's population, one fortress world solely focused on the production of military ships, one scientific heaven world that provided ample facilities to increase the rate of advancement and one new garden world to test mankind's capability to construct a "next-to-nature" planet.

Between the 2500 and 3000 C.E. humanity expanded its presence within the inner solar system to almost every planetoid they could find. Humanity was living everywhere in the solar system and more and more people wanted to build a structure that would properly mark their presence within the system. Whilst the artificial planets were still much too complex, there were other, more viable ideas. In 2617 a few engineers pitched an idea to create a massive ring-world around the Earth to provide more living and corporate space, and much to their amazement the idea took off. Construction on the Earth-ring began in 2698, after a small century of designing the construct and gathering the required resources from the asteroid belts. The ring was finished in 2781, and was connected to the Earth by space elevators. Whilst its main purpose was to provide housing, the ring itself formed an ideal platform for planetary defences, and within months extensive Ring Defence Platforms (RDP) were being built at regular intervals all along the ring.

It was during this same period that the terraforming of the major moons of the solar system started, which proved to be quite the challenge, as the outer moons would require a very dense atmosphere to even be able to contain enough heat to provide acceptable living conditions. The process started with the terraforming of Luna, which was the easiest out of all the moons. By 3000 C.E. all the "large" moons in the solar system had something that resembled breathable atmosphere, although only Luna could be classified as another garden world.

One of the greatest events of human history occurred in the year 3156, when ten of humanity's most advanced A.I.'s merged into a super-intelligence capable of accelerating the technological development to unimaginable levels. The super-intelligence created multiple copies of itself, and they were shipped to various locations within human space. This technological "singularity", as it was called, started introducing humanity to new technologies daily, one of the most important being the matter converter, a machine capable of producing any element given enough raw materials. It meant that even rocks could be used as proper resources, as their conversion rate was close to a 1 – 1.5 ratio. Another grand invention was that of energy shielding, making ship based shields and large city-wide or even planetary shields a viable possibility.

Colonization of the outer systems (Trans-Neptunian) started in 3241, when the first city was established on Pluto. The domed city was built as an outpost to study Pluto's largest moon, Charon, which was supposed to be a mass relay according to the Gatekeeper, but knowing it was there did not mean that actually finding the relay would be easy. Charon was a moon with a diameter of 1200 km's, which was not exceptionally big compared to big "solar" moons, but to find an object about 15 kilometres long buried somewhere in the moon was no simple task, even with the scanning technology available to mankind.

The breakthrough came in 3242, when one of the researchers on the Relay Discovery Project tested a theory about the Protheans having actually buried the Relay themselves, and he promptly started scanning Charon's surface for structural deformations around 50000 years old. After weeks of surveying surface examples at possible sites, an anomaly was detected at Site Alpha-546. Observation probes on the surface had discovered that the site had shown unexplainable "flashes" of dark energy similar to those used in Mass Effect technology, but deep surface scans still showed a regular moon crust. It was at that very moment that the researchers on Charon turned their gaze skywards and caught a flash of a small asteroid-like moon that was apparently orbiting Charon. Upon pointing their scanners at the object they deduced that the Ice ball they had observed was actually the Mass Relay. They had been searching inside the moon, whilst the Relay was actually simply orbiting the moon. Discovery of the Relay led to the creation of the quarantined no-fly zone around Charon to minimize the risk of accidental activation, and only authorized personnel were allowed to approach the object.

Over the next millennia humanity continued to expand its influence in the solar system, relying on increasingly advanced forms of technology to manipulate the system. Most of the smaller moons and dwarf planets were expanded into proper scientific hubs boasting populations in the thousands, whilst the larger moons of Io, Europa, Callisto, Ganymede, Titan and Triton were developed into proper garden worlds capable of supporting human life. The total human population was still growing rapidly and the next phase of development for project HAVEN was started in 4134. The design for the Ecumenopolis planet took well over a century, as no engineering project of this scale had ever been attempted. However, according to the latest scientific models, Humanity would not have enough resources within the Solar system to complete all four of the planets at an acceptable pace. Whilst asteroid mining provided the human economy with enough resources to construct them, the shipping speed of the freighters was still too low, and it would mean that the construction of a single planet would take close to five centuries. Whilst humankinds most celebrated minds started tackling the problem, green light was given for the construction of Juno, the first human ecumenopolis.

Construction of the artificial world started in 4158, and the first habitable sections of the planet were completed in 4271. One of the more interesting factors of Juno's construction was the constant influx of colonists to the new world. Each time a new section of the planet opened up, people were already racing to claim the fabled real estate, even though the generation of atmosphere was planned as the very last step in the construction of the planet. It seemed humans enjoyed the view of space whilst still being able to live on a planet.

Atmospheric generation began in 4789, and Juno was officially marked as complete in 4794, already being home to more than 40 billion humans. In theory the planet would be able to easily house more than five trillion souls, and realistic models had shown that this would be the case around the 11th millennium. One of the more interesting ways to describe the planet was: "Take the entire surface area of the Earth, including the oceans and seas, and cover it with New York City." The construction of the other planets was scheduled to start in the 10th millennia, as researchers were sure humanity would be able to construct the planets in decades instead of centuries by then.

After having thrown trillions of Confederation Credits into project ARC, the humanity's first working FTL propulsion system was completed in 4811, and it was dubbed the "Archdrive", as it was capable of providing an Arch into alternate dimensions where different laws of physics applied. Using regular starship engines, spacecraft were now capable of reaching every place in the solar system within a minute. Whilst its full capabilities were not easy to test in such a "small" playground, the device was constantly re-evaluated and updated to provide a better dimension to transition into. The theory was that if the drive was to be perfected enough, it could provide access to a dimension that would allow for proper inter-galactic travel, but such feats were still beyond humanity, for the moment…

Between the 6th and 8th millennia, humanity started experimenting with methods to literally mine stars, as simulations had shown that doing so would decrease the lifespan of the sun only by a couple of years, whilst providing enough resources to construct more than a thousand planets. However, the process was slow due to the incredible complexity of the processes within a star, of which humanity had only an elementary understanding. To gain more insight into stellar processes, a plan was formed to turn Jupiter into a miniature star contained by a gigantic solar shield. This would provide a huge degree of warmth and light to the Galilean worlds, which could then finally become comfortable garden worlds. Mankind's mastery of Fusion technology led to the creation solar reactors in 7435, which were, in essence, stars on a generator scale that provided exponentially more energy than ordinary fusion reactors. It was through the development of these reactors that humanity began its next mega scale project of jumpstarting Nuclear Fusion in Jupiter.

The Jupiter Solar shield was completed within a year from the start of its construction, and the planetary change happened in 7631 C.E. In a momentous event that was witnessed all over the solar system, humanity had performed its first feet of stellar engineering. The populations of the Galilean Planets were especially thankful as the formation of the star-Jupiter made it possible to decrease the atmospheric thickness and increase the temperature of the moons, leading to altogether more pleasant living conditions.

Understanding of stellar processes gained in the Jupiter project was used to calculate the exact effects of mining the sun for resources, which ultimately led to the construction of various Starmines in solar orbit during the 9th millenia. The process of mining a star could be observed from far away, and it was not dissimilar to a solar flare being directed to a station. The mines provided so many resources so quickly that the facilities were only activated when the need for resources was extremely high.

With over half of the years under the influence of the Chronosphere passed, humanity started preparing for the inevitable war with the machines. The first step was the creation of the fortress world Apollo and the scientific world Minerva. Both of these planets would provide essential roles in preparing for the great expansion after the LEAP, as humanity had prepared a proper plan for expansion. From data gathered by the Gatekeeper on primitive species during the time of the Prothean empire, humanity had concluded that it was highly likely that a large part of the Orion-Cygnus arm was uninhabited by Mass-Effect using civilizations. This would mean that it was possible to claim this entire galactic region as their own, which would provide a solid home base from which to wage a galactic war. Of course, it was all speculation, but Humanity had been preparing for millennia, and expansion would be swift and coordinated. Colonies outside of the Orion-Cygnus arm were not likely as they would splinter humanity's territory.

The new planets were constructed within two decades, and plans for the final planet were on hold until the next millennium. Within a few years both Apollo and Minerva boasted populations of more than a billion humans, working in the various industries provided by the new specialised powerhouse planets. Apollo was spewing out ships at an extremely high rate, thanks to the resources provided by the stellar mining outposts. On Minerva, scientists had a breakthrough in medical technology that made humans virtually immortal. Artificial acceleration of the evolutionary process had led to a vastly improved neural network and cellular structure. The human body could, in theory, exist indefinitely so long as the brain was functional. Before the acceleration the normal brain life of a human being had been about 300 years, but now it was close to 8000 years. The first test subjects showed renewed vigour and strength, but there was another side-effect. Due to the extremely advanced neural networks, artificially evolved humans had gained minor telepathic and telekinetic abilities.

Construction of the last planet, Avalon, began in the 10th millennia, and its completion marked a new era for humanity, one where the view of technology switched from a macro-view to a micro-view. New goals were set to create machines that would be capable of operating on atomic scale. The first step on this path had already been taken in 8813, when the first computer chip made out of sub-atomic particles had been constructed. It marked the genesis of quantum machinery, but extreme progress wasn't made until the new goals set in 9132 provided the needed boost to this sector. In 9135 the world's first proper quantum computer was built. The machine was smaller than a dust particle, yet had more processing power than a military supercomputer. Integration with A.I. systems led to the creation of quantum robots, which were effectively sub-atomic nanites. These robots revolutionized construction methods and medical sciences, as streams of these nanites could simply be "beamed" somewhere to create a building, or handle a disease or injury. Instead of regular large scale construction, the nanites perfected buildings on a nano-scale, which increased their effective lifespan to near infinite.

Over the course of the 10th and 11th millennia streams of the newly developed nanites were used to rebuild and upgrade almost every construction in the solar system, ranging from the Earth ring to the Starmines and the artificial planets. Ships hulls now contained swarms of the tiny machines, which allowed a hull to be self-regenerating. Major population centres kept on growing, and by the year 10993 the total population of the Solar system was about 9.8 trillion, with over three quarters of the population living on Juno.

The 12th millennium was highlighted by the construction of humanity's flagships of the Behemoth-class super-dreadnaught. These ships were over 50 kilometres long, contained batteries of the most powerful plasma and particle beam weapons available to mankind. The main gun of the Behemoth class fires a stream of Quantum Machines that is programmed to either completely disintegrate enemy ships or disable every system, rendering the ships useless. The ship contains a living area not unlike the Citadel presidium, and has a crew of more than 150.000 not including synthetics.

Apart from war, humanity also prepared for exploration. Explorer class ships were relatively small 1-2 km long vessels equipped with oversized generators and extreme cloaking systems. They would be able to travel without refuelling for centuries and would be virtually undetectable to any other ship within a star system. They had a protocol for mass-relay removal, where any found secondary relay would be dumped into a lower dimension using a special version of the Archdrive.

Another ship in heavy construction was the colony live-ship, an extremely large transportation vessel capable of housing more than a million humans. These vessels would follow the explorer-class vessels to uninhabited star systems and establish colonies on the various planets within. They had stores of terraforming machines that utilized chronosphere technology to prepare a planet for humans within hours. In the years before the LEAP, more than ten thousand of these colony live-ships were waiting for the great expansion, all of them ready to extend humanity's influence.

In 12057, the calendar was reset to 2057 A.L. (After LEAP); humanity was ready to face the perils of the galaxy and was eager to explore to its heart's content.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it, 10000 years of advancement. One question I have for you all is if you think that 10.000 years is enough time to develop into a civilization as I described. It would be easy to change the time within the Chronosphere if too many of you feel that humanity has advanced too quickly.<strong>

**Expect the first real chapter end of next week!**


	4. Chapter 1: An explorer's dream

**Hey guys, next chapter is here. I got some really positive response on the last few chapters, but one of the issues a few of you had were that I made some scientific mistakes. I'll probably correct these along with the next chapter. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this story.**

**Without further ado, let's be off:**

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: An explorers dream<p>

_(09:00 Hours, LEAP, Apollo Prime)_

The entirety of Prime Square was filled to the brim with human and synthetic citizens, soldiers, scientists and almost every other kind of person you could think of. Among them was Captain Jonathan Walker, a descendant of Major Jason Walker, one of the original explorers of the Mars Chronosphere base. The crowd had gathered on Prime Square to celebrate the LEAP, as it marked the start of a new era for humanity. Humanity, as a species, was ready to expand into the stars, having completely conquered their own solar system.

Prime Square was surrounded by mile-high towers that were all projecting the various gathering grounds in the solar system, providing a sense of connection that could be felt throughout the system. Most of the major population centres on Earth, Mars, Venus, the Galilean Worlds and the outer moons were all hosting similar events. On Juno, people were gathered in the Inner Sphere, basically a gigantic stadium-like construct built into the very core of the city capable of providing seating to over ten million people. In the centre of this sphere, seventeen humans were standing proud, looking regal in their dashing snow-white formals. Fifteen out of these seventeen individuals presented a Terran Major Hub world, and the last two individuals were the Terran Fleet Admiral and the High Consul, the so called "Voice of Humanity" and "Head of State" of the Confederation.

During the millennia under the influence of the Chronosphere, the Confederation government had changed radically into its present form. Advances in Neural technology and the discovery of telepathy during the early evolutionary trials had led to the formation of a network known as the Directive. Each individual was able to provide his or her views on various political subjects, giving the network a balanced spectrum of views. Once the political spectrum was formed, the network would approach individuals whose personal views most closely matched the spectrum of their respective worlds with and offer them the position of Representative. The chosen representatives gathered in the High Council chambers of Terra, where they would discuss issues, laws and all other things political. The High Consul was chosen from the High Council based on merits, and was the diplomatic leader of humanity and Head of State. He/She acted as the Praeses of the High Council, although the actual laws and decisions were made by the council itself unless a deadlock occurred, which is when the High Consul was allowed to force an issue using a veto.

Of course, the system would only work given that the number of worlds represented in the High Council chambers remained small, which would soon change. For that reason, an institution known as the Lower Council was to be put into effect during the LEAP. In a construct not unlike the Inner Sphere of Juno, representatives of millions of worlds could gather and judge the decisions made by the High Council, whose members would be chosen from the Lower Council by the Directive.

The High Consul himself was seemingly ready to address the entirety of the Sol System, and when he spoke the worlds grew quiet in attention.

"Today is day unlike other days. This day, we open up the Galaxy; we venture out into the stars, curious as we are. For millennia we have prepared, and we are more than ready to face the threat that wiped out our predecessors," he started.

"However, our goal is not destruction, and it never will be. There may be other, now younger races that are ignorant of the imminent danger they face. It is our duty to protect them, for the gift we have been granted is one that shouldn't be ours alone. Ancient human constitutions stated that every human has the right of life, has the right of liberty. These rights are not exclusive to humanity. Every sentient being has the right to exist, and we will be the vanguards of their protection."

"On this day, we call into life the Duty of Humankind. We have lived by this principle for ages, and from this day forth, we will spread our message and honour the responsibility we have been gifted. Humanity will protect sentient life, be it organic or synthetic, from harm and extinction."

"But before we can protect life, we first have to find it. I want to present all of you the brave men and women of the Confederation Exploration and Discovery Division. Thousands of explorer class vessels are set to leave this very day, on a sacred quest to explore the galaxy. I wish to personally thank all these brave souls willing to leave our home for the good of all mankind. To all of you, I say, Fare well and may the stars guide you."

Upon finishing his speech the crowds gathered in the Sol system burst into a fervent applause, as all were celebrating the LEAP. The High Consul gave curt bow, after which several commanders on the various Sol worlds started their own local speeches.

On Prime Square, the mass was greeted by Rear Admiral Grissom, who would be leading the 10th Explorer Flotilla. Grissom was a well-built and stocky man; his black beard well-trimmed but fully grown.

"I would like to call to my side the various officers that will be part of the 10th Exploration Flotilla," he said as the officers were gestured join him on stage. From all over the gathered crowd, officers began to walk towards the Rear Admiral. After a minute or two, over 400 officers were standing behind the admiral, resolute in formation.

"The men and women behind me represent the bravery and curiosity our species has always shown. They will be commanding groups of our bravest souls on this mission of exploration of ours, and help us shape our destiny in the stars. I would like all of you to salute these men and women. Everyone serving on an Explorer-class vessel is expected at the Prime Spaceport within four hours. To the rest of you I say: Enjoy this momentous day!"

The crowd gave the salute Grissom had asked for, and started moving towards the various restaurants, bars, artists and shows that were preparing their part of the LEAP celebrations. Grissom and his men entered the building directly behind them, the Apollo Military Academy.

The Academy was one of the largest and highest complexes on the planet; its towers reaching heights well over 5 kilometres and spread out over an area as big as the heart of London City. It was home to the various branches of the Terran military, including intelligence, Space Operations and Communications, Planetary Forces and multiple others. There were dozens of dorm complexes for the various recruits and serving soldiers, spread out all over the complex. Grissom's group was heading towards the Briefing Grounds, were the mission details for the 10th flotilla would be presented to the various Captains and Commodores.

The Briefing Grounds were a few large circular buildings each home to a large auditorium. The auditorium contained a holographic presenting unit at its centre, surrounded by several rows and balconies of seats for all attending personnel. Grissom walked over to the Holographic interface whilst ordering the officers to take a seat, after which he opened up the mission files. A holographic representation of the solar system came into view, with each of the human major hubs highlighted.

"Good afternoon, Ladies and gentlemen. You all know me as Rear Admiral Jon Grissom, commanding officer of the 10th exploration flotilla. I want to take a few minutes of your time to brief all of you of our mission parameters, even though most of you have been preparing for years. As today marks the actual start of humanity setting her first steps outside of the solar system, we need our people at their very best, and it is my job to make sure that you are," Grissom started after the officers had all taken their seats.

"At 16:00 precisely the first set of human explorers will leave for the Centauri star system, where they will survey any bodies orbiting the stars, leave beacons for the first Colony ship and continue on their way to the next system. The results of their journey will be relayed back to Sol using subspace communicators, so all of you can expect to be able to view their progress in real time."

"Exactly one hour after the exploration of the Centauri system, most of the other Exploration Flotilla's will leave for certain star clusters in our vicinity. The 10th Flotilla will explore this particular sector of the local cluster," he said as the interface zoomed in on a group of about 500 star systems, "Most of these systems are situated approximately 75 light-years from Sol, so it will take our ships about fifteen minutes to actually get there using the Mark XV Archdrive installed on Explorer-class vessels. I have forwarded information on a particular star system to each of your neural interfaces."

"Each and every one of you knows the prime directive of this mission: To explore systems and establish viable sites for colonization. Terran Fleet Command has ordered us not to extend our reach too much, so we are limiting colony sites to a 100 light-year range from Sol."

"You will use your time in the star system designated to you and your crew to completely map the system, after which we will all rendezvous in the Omega Sagitarii system for the next stage of the exploration mission, which will be briefed in system. For now, I say prepare yourself and your crews, and may the stars guide you," Grissom finished.

Jonathan had received data on a smaller red dwarf star within their designated cluster, and was looking forward to exploring the system with his crew. He was glad to have participated so actively in the Exploration Program over the last few years, and he was full of pride for having been awarded the command of his very own ship.

After having studied their designated system information, most of the officers left for the Apollo Starport, which was one of the most impressive planetary structures ever created by mankind. Normally the navy used small planetary transports to reach the humongous orbital docks present above most of the planets, but on Apollo most of the Starships were actually docked at the surface-based Starport itself. The entirety of the Starport covered an area that would've been considered as a small country back in the years before the Chronosphere.

The Spaceport was dominated by the Starport Command Tower, which was actually the tallest structure on the planet, measuring at just over 30 kilometres in height. The tower was built like the old airport control towers, with a large viewing deck at the top of the tower. The main difference was the scale of this deck, as it was almost 6 kilometres in diameter, providing a clear view of the surrounding area, which was purposely kept clear of clouds. At the base of the tower was the actual port, a large circular structure with arms that went on for thousands of meters.

Jonathan's ship was currently docked at ARM-12, station 359, which was a 10 kilometre ride away from the Starport main Terminal. Whilst humanity had already developed a form of teleportation technology, it was not capable of transporting something as large as human just yet. Instead, constructs such as the Spaceport and a Behemoth Class Super-Dreadnought used Archtrains, Rapid Transportation Systems built for travel on a special network that created miniature Archdrive jumps for the tram to travel through. The system provided an ideal way of short distance/high velocity travel, and was invaluable in many of humanity's larger constructs, stations and ships.

In total, 400 Explorer class vessels were docked at ARM-12 of the Starport, which was the entirety of the 10th exploration flotilla. There were two more ARM's of the port that were lined with the same vessels, as both the 9th and the 11th flotilla would embark on their journey from Apollo as well. There were 32 flotillas in total, made up of 400 Explorer class vessels, most of which were leaving from Juno. The entire exploration mission today would provide enough data for the office of Colonization to designate the appropriate planets for colonization.

As Jonathan left the Archtrain, he was awed by the sight before him, or rather, below him. From the ARM viewing deck he could see dozens of the Explorer-Class vessels, all of them readying for departure. His own ship, the _TCSS Into the Abyss_, was surely a sight to behold, though in all honesty, every explorer class was. The ship had a distinct tapered central section made up of nearly 100 decks at the highest point near the aft side of the ship. The bridge was situated there as well, overlooking the entire ship. Next to the central section were two stretched S-curved sections that joined the central section at the bow and near mid-ship. At the end of the S-sections the sublight engines were giving off a faint blue glow from the warm-up procedure.

While Jonathan was still gazing at his ship, one of the junior officers who was also serving on the _Abyss_ came up to him.

"Sir," she saluted, "Commander Catherine Everheart. I'm your XO"

"At ease, commander," Jonathan replied.

"If you would please follow me, sir," Catherine asked as she beckoned Jonathan to follow her.

The two of them went down two levels and entered one of the ship transports, small trams that were generally used to load personnel onto ships larger than a few hundred meters.

"So Commander, how long have you been part of the Confederation Navy?" Jonathan asked, genuinely interested.

"I joined up 10 years ago, sir," she answered, "Spent five years in the Academy here, and the next five under Grissom. Mostly simulations, given that we didn't really have anything real to defend before today, sir,"

Over the last fifty years, the confederation navy had been prepping their personnel for LEAP. Because the Sol system had been a bastion of peace for thousands of years, the military had created advanced simulations were crews of different ships participated in virtual naval engagements. Most of the officers serving in the Terra Defence Fleet had decades of experience fighting the virtual battles.

"Well, that's about to change now, commander," Jonathan replied, "Our jobs are only going to get more interesting from now on."

Before long the ship transport reached one of the hangar bays of the _Abyss_, which was dotted with a multitude of different vehicles that would prove useful in the exploration missions to come. There were a few crew transports, mining units, recon rovers and loads more.

"Alright sir, would you like to head to the bridge now, or should we make a detour through several of the vital decks?" Catherine asked.

"I would like to meet my crew, commander, and I would rather do it now."

"Very well, sir," Catherine said as she led the Captain to the ship transport network, a set of "elevators" capable of moving in nearly every direction. You could view one as a ball travelling through a pipe network. A very advanced pipe network.

Their first stop was the Engineering sector, made up of multiple decks centred on the ship's gigantic Archdrive. The Mark XV was capable of speeds of up to 300 light-years an hour under normal operating conditions. Whilst it was not the fastest drive available to humanity, the mark XV was the most power-efficient drive ever produced, and it allowed the Explorer-Class vessels to minimize their heat and energy signature. Combined with the active stealth systems and energy sinks, the Explorer-class was virtually undetectable to all but the most advanced sensor systems.

A few marines saluted the captain as he and his XO walked up to the lead engineer, Marcus Connely, who was in charge of all the engineering divisions.

"Good afternoon sir," he said as Jonathan and Catherine reached his station, "Marcus Connely, Lead Engineer."

"Afternoon Connely," Jonathan replied, "One hell of an engine we've got here. I expect you can put her through her paces with ease?"

"Naturally, sir! The mark XV is one of the most advanced Archdrives we have, and with my team of engineers on duty we can get more than 110% out of her."

"Good to know, Connely. If there's anything you need, let me know. Were set for departure in 60 minutes, we'll talk again later."

"Of course, sir," Connely replied as Jonathan and Catherine continued on their "tour" of the ship. Their next stop was the intelligence deck, outfitted with state of the art sensory systems. The task of the intelligence department was to analyse any data gathered by the sensor drones that had been dropped into orbit around new planets, and to gather data on new species, civilizations or other "anomalies" they might encounter.

They visited a few more decks, including the armoury, the dormitories, the medical deck and the flight operations deck before arriving in the bridge, which was situated directly above the FO-deck. Jonathan had had a quick talk with a few of the men and women in charge of their respective divisions on their way to the bridge, so when they finally did arrive on the bridge they had 15 minutes left before departure.

"Welcome sir," a faint white, synthetic avatar said as Jonathan reached his station. "I'm SSI-34A-XC, more commonly known as Selene. I'll be handling all cyber-suites and will provide you with every bit of up-to-date information on ship performance and status. Looking forward to working with you."

"Likewise, Selene. Let's start the routine pre-departure systems check," Jonathan replied.

The systems check took about 5 milliseconds, courtesy of A.I. technology, after which Jonathan started gazing at the other explorer-class vessels next to the _Into the Abyss_. It was an amazing view, hundreds of explorers ready to embark on their great journey, all their ships brimming with activity. Most of the starport operations vehicles and services had detached from the ships, apart from the docking clamps and starport anti-gravity fields. As the departure clock started nearing zero, Jonathan started the departure procedure.

"Activate Anti-gravity Engines," Jonathan ordered.

One of his bridge officers replied. "Engines… are go. Anti-gravity field is stable. Ready for undocking, sir"

"Release the clamps."

"Clamps retracted, all systems are holding. We are ready for departure, sir."

"Good," Jonathan said as he opened the neural ship communication network, "This is your Captain speaking. At this very moment, we depart on a journey that will be remembered in the annals of our species. We've spent millennia advancing our technological grasp of the universe, and now we finally get to explore it all. I expect us to find sights, wonders and other experiences that will take our breath away. Planets filled with new life, civilizations young and old and mysteries we cannot yet grasp. All of this is within our reach now, and today, we will set the first steps."

"Nice speech, captain," Selene said smiling. It was one of the nicer aspects of human artificial intelligence, that they were capable of portraying emotions that would normally be the sole property of organics.

After receiving the go-ahead from the starport, the _Into the Abyss_ started ascending away from the starport until they were at the required clearance level to start the sublight engines. After engine activation they joined the 10th flotilla in orbit around Apollo, where they were waiting for their Admiral to give them the go-ahead for travelling to their designated star-systems. However, that was still an hour away, as they would first view the live footage from the Centauri expedition.

* * *

><p>The holo-screen on the bridge switched to their live footage:<p>

_The bridge of the "TCSS One small Step" was almost completely identical to the "TCSS Into the Abyss" apart from the obviously different A.I. _

_"__Preparing Archspace Jump," one of the bridge officers said, "Coordinates are green, we are ready, sir,"_

_"__Take us there," the admiral in command of the expedition said._

_"__Yes sir," the same officer said, after which the entire ship jumped through a rip in space-time and entered the subspace dimension. The view was absolutely amazing, as a multitude of bluish colours streamed over the ship's shields._

_After a short minute in subspace, the ship re-entered our own dimension, having arrived at the Centauri Tertiary system._

_"__My god, it's beautiful," one of the bridge officers said. It was indeed a sight to behold, two stars within 20 AU of each other, orbiting each other in a never-ending celestial dance. The last star of the system was much smaller and a hell of a lot further away, appearing to simply be a very bright star in the night sky._

_"__Activate the long-range scanners," the captain said, as their first priority was to explore planets orbiting the star._

_After a few moments the results came in._

_"__Sir, we've got a lot to do. Systems are detecting 8 planets in orbit around the larger star, one with potential for life, although it seems to be just outside of the goldilocks zone. The second star appears to have 4 planets orbiting it, and the there's 6 more planets orbiting the binary system, although most of these are barren dwarf planets."_

_"__Take us to the fourth planet," the captain said, "And perform a terraforming-scope check once we're there."_

_The ship's sublight engines produced a quiet hum as the "One small Step" travelled to the fourth planet in orbit around Alpha Centauri A. When the ship had reached the right velocity and vector, they prepared for a pinpoint Archspace jump._

_"__Prepare for jump in 3… 2… 1…" A bridge officer said as the Explorer re-entered subspace for a microsecond._

_Their target planet was in full view now, and it was beautiful. There was definitely an atmosphere, giving the edge of the planet a faint blue glow. Most of the surface was white, but there were visible landmarks, probably mountainous regions._

_"__Atmospheric condition is… surprisingly earth-like, sir. Most of the surface is covered with H2O ice, and we're detecting several warmer regions that point to subsurface oceans. Microbial life is possible, but not much more than that."_

_"__Shows promise," the captain said, "Leave a buoy for the Colonization ships, and send down a few probes, we've got more planets to check out."_

* * *

><p>The rest of the hour went by like time itself didn't exist, as everyone was enthralled with the explorers aboard the <em>One small Step<em>. Half an hour after the discovery of the ice-planet, which had been dubbed Everest, the first colony-ship appeared in system. The ship dropped a small package onto the planetary surface that sent a shimmer over the planetary surface as a time field was introduced to the planet. Nanites inside the package began constructing and operating terraforming equipment as if the speed was set on fast forward. Within fifteen minutes the shimmer was retracted, and the planet's face had been changed, albeit not too drastically. Most of the higher regions were still covered with ice or snow, but the lower regions of the planet now boasted liquid oceans. The colony-ship, bringing about 200.000 settlers (Less than 15% of its total capacity) along, descended down to the planet's surface. Humanity had founded its first extrasolar colony, and more would follow quickly.

When the clock hit 17:00, flotilla after flotilla started leaving the Sol system. When Rear Admiral Grissom gave the go-ahead, all 400 ships that were under his command jumped towards their destination.

Jonathan was amazed by the journey through subspace, even though he had seen the streams of blue light before. This time he got to enjoy the view for over 15 minutes, which was far longer than he had ever spent in subspace.

"Quite the show, isn't it sir?" Catherine said as she gazed outside.

"It's beautiful, commander. Amazes me each and every time again," Jonathan replied.

"What do you think we'll find out there?" she asked.

"A lot of rocks, commander. But perhaps we'll get lucky and find an actual garden world," Jonathan said.

Soon after the ship A.I., Selene spoke up.

"We're approaching the system, Captain. Dropping out of subspace in 30 seconds."

"Allright, let's see how lucky we are."

When the ship dropped out of subspace seconds later the ship found itself in orbit around a red dwarf star.

"Scanning for planets, sir," one of the bridge officers said as she started the long-range scanning sequence.

"Captain, we've hit the proverbial jackpot," Selene said soon after, "System appears to contain 4 planets, two of which are in the Goldilocks zone. The outer one seems to be a dusty world like Mars, but the inner one has all the requirements for an earth-like planet."

Jonathan's eyes lit up at the mentioning of a possible Garden world. "Take us to the inner planet," he ordered. They matched velocity and direction with the target planet and prepared a pinpoint jump.

When the _Into the Abyss_ came out of subspace once more, everyone on the ship gasped at the beauty before them. The planet they were orbiting looked like a new earth; it had similar cloud patterns, blue oceans, and scores of green land. The Polar Regions looked cold, but they were smaller than Earth's. As for the equatorial regions, it seemed that there were no deserts at all. It looked like they had actually stumbled on a planet that was more suitable for life than their own Earth, and the crew was simply amazed.

Soon after a swarm of probes left from one of the many hangars that dotted the side of the Explorer class vessel, all of them establishing a different orbit around the planet, some of them headed for Geo-synchronous altitudes whilst others moved into polar orbits.

"Selene, what's the atmosphere like?" Jonathan asked, almost convinced that it would be something unsuitable.

"Nitrogen Oxygen based, Captain," Selene answered, "With about one percent more oxygen than the Earth's atmosphere. The planet also boasts an impressive magnetic field and oceanic circulation system. No signs of sapient civilization. This is a class-3 garden world, sir."

"Send down drones and landers," Jonathan said, amazed by the amount of luck he'd had.

Before long the administrator of the Sol Colonial Division contacted Jonathan for data confirmation.

"Captain, my name is Joseph Archer, administrator for the SCD. I have five colony-live ships ready to jump to your system if your data is correct. If I can believe your view, I'd assume you really did hit a jackpot here."

"Administrator, we have a 100% confirmation on a class-3. Local fauna development level is still in the animal stage, so there are no true arguments against en masse colonization."

"Excellent, I'll relay the confirmation to the colony-ships. Any ideas for a name, captain?"

Jonathan looked at the administrator in surprise. "Uhm, just one, administrator. Arcadia."

"Perfect, especially considering how "heaven-like" the planet seems to be. Next one like this will probably be called Elysium or something along that line," the administrator said with a large grin on his face, "Expect the ships in system within 20 minutes, captain."

When the connection was cut Jonathan turned to his crew on the bridge with one of the biggest smiles he had ever had stuck to his face.

"Let's go and check out the other planets. Set a course for the Mars-like one."

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it for this week. Expect the next chapter to be up somewhere in the next two weeks, as my schedule is getting a little full at the moment. We're moving to the first contact, and I have some nice ideas for that. However, I would like to know which species would make for the most interesting first contact scenario in your opinion. Personally I'm leaning towards either Quarians or Salarians.<strong>

**I'm also currently sketching out a few of the human ships and worlds, so expect some kind of codex page when most of those are done. I like giving you guys some visuals to accompany the story.**

**Let me know what you think!**

**Cheers**


	5. Chapter 2: Into the deep

**Hey guys, a bit late, but as stated in my previous chapter, my current schedule doesn't allow me to write as much as I want, and of course sometimes it is good to take a small brake, all the better for the story. Anyways, I got a few questions from guest reviewers about the time field, and seeing that I can't answer them via PM, I'll do it here.**

**TheJoining: Can you physically pass through the edge of Chronosphere's area of affect?**

**The answer would be no, as you would be experiencing time in two separate regions. Imagine your red blood cells suddenly clotting up near the edge of the Chronosphere's SOI. Live beings would certainly die. Solid objects can pass trough, but would most likely be broken due to two parts moving at different "relativistic speeds". So to truly answer the question: the field acts like a true border.**

**Jotunsquid: The Quarians especially might be taken aback by the mass of true AIs extant. Do those AIs have Asimov's Laws of Robotics hardwired into their systems to prevent them from going rogue?**

**A.I's are like human beings in all they do. They're considered full citizens and are recognized as such. Naturally there will always be some dissenters, but in my humanity such a trait is rare even in humans, so a rogue A.I. would be very, very rare.**

**Thanks for all the views, follows, favourites and most of all, Reviews!**

**Let's get going!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Into the deep<p>

The last few weeks had been rather tiring for Jonathan and his crew. Exciting, but challenging all the same. They had spent day after day exploring system after system, charting and securing human space through reconnaissance and observation. The _Into the Abyss_ had already visited over 100 different systems, and they were currently in orbit around a star about a 1000 light-years from Earth. Most of these systems contained at least 4 or more planets, but Arcadia was still the only class-3 garden world they had come across. It seemed that perfect conditions for life were a bit rarer than they had believed previously.

During the past few weeks, humanity had expanded greatly, though the 100 light-year border was still in effect. In total they had found two class-3 garden worlds in their sphere around Sol, both of which they had started colonizing slowly. A lot of humans believed that they shouldn't destroy any form of complex life to provide living conditions that would be perfect for humans. For that very reason, both of the Garden worlds, Arcadia and Eden, were being colonized with different approach compared to the other human colonies. Both planets now boasted a single city from where humans could enjoy the natural landscape of the planet, study the local biosphere and experience the many facets of art, music and other cultural highs of human society. Both planets were, in essence, quite heavenly, and humanity had achieved a true synergy with nature on both worlds.

Apart from the two class-3 worlds, some of the explorers had stumbled upon one class-2 and several class-1 worlds. Class-2 worlds were planets that supported life, albeit based on a different biology compared to Earth-organisms. They were, in all essence, completely comparable to class-3 worlds, except for the fact that the worlds were completely unsuitable for humanity. Standard procedure when class-2 planets were concerned was to establish listening and observation posts in orbit, which is exactly what humanity done with the class-2 world they had found. Class-1 worlds were planets that could support life in theory, had done so in the past or supported microbial life. These planets were a prime target for terraforming and full scale colonization.

Of course, humanity hadn't stopped building their own worlds and stations. Due to the advancement of time-field technology in the last few centuries, quantum nanites were capable of constructing a new world within weeks if given enough resources. Starmines were being been constructed in most of the star systems within the 100 light year sphere, and they were all using subspace transporters to transport their gathered resources to the Arcturus star system, where humanity was constructing multiple worlds within the habitable zone. The system was to be the military capital of the Confederation, boasting three fortress worlds and a massive shipyard and station in stellar orbit.

* * *

><p>"Captain, incoming transmission from the Rear Admiral," Selene stated abruptly.<p>

Grissom's head suddenly appeared on screen.

"Captain Walker, we're sending you to a different cluster. We've been detecting anomalies in the Sagittarius arm that could have been caused by an intelligent civilization. Headquarters wants us to gather intelligence on any potential alien empire or society out there. We've got most of the explorers still mapping more star systems in our own galactic arm, but we're relocating about one hundred ships to various points in the galaxy. You are to travel to these coordinates," he said as a set of numbers appeared on screen," and create a "rail" of monitor systems, 200 light years standard distance."

"Any protocol change for first contact, sir?" Jonathan asked, wondering if we would be authorized to approach possible aliens.

"No son, you are to remain undetected. Feel free to observe them however."

"Understood sir,"

"Good, I want you out there ASAP, so ready your ship Captain. Grissom out," the Rear Admiral said as he cut the connection.

Jonathan stared at his holo-display of the galaxy, and linked his received coordinates to the designated system.

"How long for us to get there, Selene?" he asked.

"23 hours, 38 minutes and 15.0132 seconds, Captain," the A.I. said smugly.

Jonathan sniggered at her response, "Selene, a simple "about a day" would have been more than suffice."

"I aim to please, Captain," said Selene with a wink.

"Alright, ready a jump to subspace."

"Right away, Captain."

Soon after the _Into the Abyss_ shot forward into subspace, leaving behind a faint blue flare as the arch into subspace closed behind it.

The distinctive bluish flares of subspace were skimming the shields of the Explorer when Jonathan decided to head down to the crew deck. They would be traveling for almost a day, so there was no reason to remain on full alert all the time. As he reached the ship transporter, his XO, Commander Everheart joined his side.

"Heading down to C-Deck as well, sir?" she asked.

"Yes, commander, Selene can handle the ship just fine for now."

"I don't doubt it, sir," she replied, smirking slightly, "If you don't mind me asking, sir, where are you from?"

"Earth-born, commander. European megalopolis to be more precise. Damn city is so big it covers five historical countries, at least… partly. What about you?"

"Luna, sir. At least until I transferred to Apollo 60 years ago. I joined a military research division until the recruitment call for Explorers 10 years ago. You know the rest."

"Yes I do, commander. Rather glowing recommendations and all. Still, a commander after only ten years, it's almost unheard of."

"I might have had some luck with my posting under Grissom, sir. He… kind of made sure I was one of the best, and I aim to keep it that way."

"Grissom's favourite huh," Jonathan muttered.

"No sir," Catherine almost yelped, "He just trained me really well."

Jonathan eyed her incredulously, but made no more mention of it as the two of them stepped out of the transporter. They made their way to the crew lounges, which were surprisingly empty given that they were about to spend a day in uneventful FTL-flight. There were only a few soldiers and engineers scattered amongst the many "booths".

The crew lounges were a set of three large rooms filled with comfortable sofas and tables and had a large bar along one of the walls. The lounge was designed with a jazzy club in mind, giving the room a very relaxed atmosphere.

Catherine and Jonathan chose one of the booths to sit down, and promptly started discussing their next assignment.

"Sir, I saw our target system. I ran a few scans before jumping, and they showed that we can expect a massive star. And when I say massive, I mean blue giant massive. About 200 solar masses."

"Now that would be an interesting one to mine, wouldn't it," Jonathan replied, "Sadly, we're not dropping any construction nanites in system, just recon probe with subspace linking."

"I know sir, I read the briefing. We're going there to observe possible Extrasolars." Catherine said, internally noting that that term would have to be changed again, given that a lot of humans were "extrasolar" already, "What I don't get is why we're using these random jumps to find them. Wouldn't it be easier to simply follow the relays?"

Jonathan chuckled, "And just how would you think we could find these partner relays. It's not as if we can tell where they point without jumping through, and that's against Gatekeeper protocol. And you know that we removed all the relays within the Sol sphere, so we'd have to find a new one first."

"I'm sure we could figure it out sir. Just seems like a tedious way of handling this, that's all."

"Commander, don't forget the secondary objective here. By establishing these recon systems, we can monitor a large part of the galaxy a lot easier."

"True sir, hadn't thought of it that way," Catherine said as she opened a holo-display of the Sagittarius arm. She zoomed in on a star cluster about 2000 light years from their target system.

"Anyways sir, I ran a few long range scans aw well, and I've confirmed the anomalies the Admiral briefed us on, however, I did notice that the anomalies seem to be concentrated on this particular star cluster. Might be worth investigating…"

"Good find commander, although don't I believe our scientists didn't pick this up. We'll place one of our monitor probes there as it's along the path we've been given."

Jonathan and Catherine continued discussing the mission until they started slipping into different subjects. They were soon joined by a few other heads of their respective divisions, and all of them were eager to find, study, and possibly meet these aliens.

The rest of the day passed without anything noteworthy as the _Into the Abyss_ drew nearer to their target system. Some crewmembers, including the captain and his XO, used the time to catch up on some long needed sleep, and they slept until Selene announced that the ship would be re-entering real space within 30 minutes.

Jonathan got up as soon as Selene had made the announcement, and within 15 minutes he was heading up to the bridge. When he got there the bridge was already spurring with activity.

When the _Into the Abyss_ came out of subspace, the ship found herself in high stellar orbit around the massive star.

"Captain, I am detecting an anomaly in system, although it would really difficult to track without our kind of sensors due to solar radiation. There's something in very low stellar orbit, about 500 meters in width and 6 kilometres long. And it's emitting radiation and energy of its own, although nigh enough untraceable," Selene said.

"Selene, how low are we speaking here?" Jonathan asked.

"Orbital altitude at 200.000 kilometres above the solar surface, Captain. Given that the star in particular has a radius five times that of the sun, the orbital altitude is one where we would consider building starmines."

Jonathan was alarmed; if they'd found a civilization capable of building starmines then they were possibly as advanced as, or even more advanced than humanity. "Selene, does the anomaly resemble a starmine?"

"No captain, no pull of stellar materials detected."

"Well then, let's go and take a closer look, shall we?" Jonathan said, "Activate active camouflage."

"Activating," one of the bridge officers said as the ship headed towards the anomaly around the star.

"Captain, I'm getting imagery," said XO Everheart as a holo of the facility appeared, "Still unclear though, we need to get closer to do a full interior scan."

The anomaly looked like station of some kind, with something that could only be described as a ridiculous solar shield attached to one side. Instead of using quantum energy shielding systems as humanity did, the civilization that had built this facility seemed to have built a gigantic and immensely thick "mirror". It was a crude solution, and one that would eventually fail as the enormous temperature of the star slowly but steadily decayed the material, but they had somehow found a material that could take the enormous amounts of heat and energy emitted by the star.

"That has to be one of the crudest, but also one of the most expensive ways to get a station to survive so low in orbit around a star like this," Catherine mumbled.

"You are correct, XO Everheart," Selene said, "I am detecting active coolant systems around the… station. Using energy shielding would be approximately 150000% cheaper."

"No kidding," Jonathan mumbled as the ship approached the station. Now that they were close they could see strange markings etched into the surface of the station, which was rather plain. There were a few distinct levels, but in all honesty the station looked like a gigantic box with the solar reflectors on the side facing the star.

"Any lifesigns, Selene?" asked Jonathan.

"I've got about 50.000 of them, very faint. They're all in suspended animation."

"A cryostation?" Jonathan muttered, slightly surprised.

"Captain, do you want to send in a scouting squad?" Catherine asked.

"I'd love to explore that personally, Commander, but that wouldn't be very wise, would it. Send in Alpha and Beta squads, active camouflage mandatory." Jonathan said as he screened the alien station.

Within minutes the scout squads were ready to explore the construct, and the leaders of the two squads reported to launch deck. They would be entering the structure using phasing technology, where they would partially shift their being into subspace, rendering them able to pass through solid material.

* * *

><p><em>(Into the Abyss, Scout Team Alpha &amp; Beta)<em>

"Chief Petty Officer Rodriguez, reporting sir!" said one of the scout squad leaders as Captain Walker's avatar appeared on the launch deck.

"At ease, chief," Jonathan replied.

"We're armed and ready to go, sir!"

"Very well, you're cleared for phasing, you may depart when ready."

"Understood sir," Rodriguez said as the rest of his squad approached him.

"Alphas form up. Activate combat hard-suit gravity-thrusters and phase field emitters, we're going in!"

"Sir!" the other members of Alpha Team saluted.

Both squads rose and passed the containment shield of the _Into the Abyss's_ launch deck, making their way to the alien station that was about 1 kilometre away from them. They were headed for one of the more obvious "levels", where the lower level was clearly sticking out a bit. The outer hull of the station was made of a material that was similar to the mass effect Relays, which sent a chill down Rodriguez's spine.

As the two teams neared the station they activated their phasing field as a soft ripple through space hinted at their disguised forms. They passed through the hull easily enough, and after almost one meter of solid metal, the teams found themselves drifting through a large hallway with dozens of stasis pods placed along the facing wall in orderly fashion.

"Deactivate Phasing Field," Rodriguez ordered through the Neural network. The human neural network made sure that soldiers could receive every piece of data simultaneously and it allowed for silent communications, giving stealth squads a definite edge.

The same ripple that could be observed earlier now ran through the large hallway, ignoring any kind of object as if it wasn't even there.

The scout teams used their gravity-manipulating thrusters to position themselves on what seemingly looked like a walkway. It overlooked a large part of pods that were giving the hall a faint greenish glow.

"Selene, can you detect artificial gravity?" Rodriguez asked as he linked up with the _Into the Abyss's _A.I.

"No gravity detected, all squads are advised to switch to suit based gravity systems," Selene answered.

"Acknowledged," said Rodriguez.

The activation of suit based gravity was one of the handier parts of combat hard-suits. They contained a gravity field generator capable of letting anyone feel as if they were experiencing a comfortable Earth 1G, whilst using microscopic gravity fields and magnetic fields to attach the suits' boots to any surface.

"Chief, I want you to find a hardware station, see if we can get Selene into this station," said Walker over the neural network.

"Yes sir, on it."

The two squads split up and started searching the various side rooms situated along the walkway, but none contained any kind of viable station.

"Sir, we should head down to ground level," said one of the squad members.

"I agree," replied Rodriguez as he took point and led the team down using a gravity assisted jump.

In both directions Rodriguez could now observe hundreds, or even thousands of pods, all of them emitting the same faint glow hinting at something still being alive inside.

"My god…" the Chief gasped.

"It's… a lot of pods," said one of the squad members.

"Wow," said another.

Alpha squad then started moving in search of some kind of console. As far as they could tell the wall of pods ran the entire length of the station, but every now and gain there was an intersection usually leading to another pod-hall. These new halls ran parallel to the hall the team was currently scouting, and truly gave the squad a sense of just how many beings were stored in this facility.

"Chief, we've got something here," one of the squad members a few meters ahead of Rodriguez said as he was peering into yet another intersection.

There was a server-like room at the end of the intersection, containing a few machines that bore a slight resemblance to human data consoles. There were also rows of larger machines behind the consoles, glowing with faint greenish light and enveloped in a soft mist.

"Seems like we found the place, good job," said Rodriguez.

"Captain, we've found said hardware station. Selene, can you try a remote access?"

"Release a quantum swarm, Chief," said Selene as she prepared herself for interfacing with the foreign systems.

"Releasing," said Rodriguez as faint cloud left one of the sockets of his combat hard-suits, leaving behind a small gap in the suit that was slowly restoring to its former status.

The swarm of quantum machines quickly spread into all of the systems in the room, which began lighting up almost instantly.

"I have full control of the systems, Captain," Selene said to both Walker and Rodriguez, "Their cyber-defences were almost none-existent to be honest, really underdeveloped for a species with a cryo-station such as this one. I recommend caution on revealing my presence should you decide to wake one of them up."

"Excellent, can you find out something about their origins? I would like to know a bit more about who, or what we are dealing with here before deciding on anything. I am contacting Grissom at the moment to update him on the situation, so take your time to delve through the systems."

"Acknowledged Captain," was Selene's reply.

The A.I. continued her work as she interfaced the many quantum machines with the alien systems, gathering and analysing every bit of data available.

"Captain, we're done here. Permission to return to the _Abyss_?" said Rodriguez.

"Granted, Chief."

"Alphas, move out," the Chief ordered.

"Yes, sir," was the swift reply as the squad left the computer room and made their way to the upper level once more. There, they activated their phasing fields and left the station the same way they had come in, using their gravity engines to propel themselves back towards the ship.

At the same time beta squad was also returning to ship, leaving the station as lifeless as it had been once more, with one small difference being the dozens of quantum machines now present in the station's systems.

* * *

><p><em>(Into the Abyss, Bridge)<em>

"Selene, what have you found out?" Jonathan asked curiously, wondering about the discovered species."

"Well Captain, a few really interesting facts actually," Selene started, "First of all, most of the stasis pods are active, but do not have the required amount of energy to actually open, only three of them have those kind of reserves. Next, the station has been in orbit around this star for over 300.000 years. Thought that might pique your interest, sir. Oh, and I have been able to upload a full translation of their language into the local neural network. You should be able to communicate with them flawlessly."

"300.000 years…" Walker said, slightly startled, "Modern Homo Sapiens didn't even exist back then. Have they been in stasis for all those years?"

"It appears so, sir," Selene replied, "That they are even alive leans credit to their scientific and engineering skills."

"That it does, Selene," Jonathan said.

At that moment, Grissom returned to their view.

"Walker, the data you sent us, it's… well it's something else. Board has decided you are to initiate holographic contact, whilst keeping the ship cloaked. You may proceed when ready, son."

"Al right, sir," Jonathan answered, "Any instructions for dealing with any kind of offer or request from the aliens?"

"Not yet Walker, we'll be following your progress live. Expect instructions and orders to come in as necessary."

"Understood, Walker out," said the Captain as he gave a salute.

Grissom disappeared once more, giving Jonathan a clear view of the station on his display once more.

"Selene, out of those three pods that could be activated, does any one of them contain a person of notice?" Jonathan asked.

"I cannot tell, sir. The contents of the pods aren't specified, although I have determined with 100% certainty that the other pods' lack of power was done on purpose. I recommend opening the three pods simultaneously, sir."

"Very well, get me a live feed of the pods in question and prepare of holo-avatar near them."

"Already done, sir," Selene replied smugly.

"What would I do without you," Jonathan wondered aloud.

"I'll leave you to ponder that one for while sir, you'll figure it out eventually," she said playfully.

The view of the station changed into the live 3-dimensional feed of one of the pod halls.

"Selene, can you highlight the to-be activated pods?"

"Yes sir."

Three pods situated near the end of the row became highlighted with a lightly orange hue.

"Start the activation procedure," Jonathan said.

* * *

><p>Soon after there was a slight release of fog as the three pods shifted in position, moving towards the centre of the aisle between the two rows of pods. A distinct hissing sound could be heard as three hatches disconnected, reconnecting the contents of the pod with the outside air for the first time in thousands upon thousands of years. The lid slid off slowly, revealing the being that had been sleeping beneath.<p>

It was human-like, bipedal and bi-ocular, but with a much thinner body and only four digits on its "hands". The fingers, if that was what you could call them, contained no nails or even a sign of bones underneath the smooth skin. The being was rather tall, measuring in at almost 2.2 meters, but the extremely thin waist, arms and legs did not give it the appearance of being particularly strong or heavy. Another prominent feature was its disproportionally long neck, thin and lean like all its other body-parts. Last, the beings head was rather small, completely smooth and bald, with two small nostrils just above a tiny mouth with no visible lips. Its eyes were dark grey, black even, with a faint difference in colour hinting at the presence hinting at the presence of something that functioned like an iris. They were large, taking up about an eighth of its entire face each, and were in stark contrast with its smooth light grey skin.

The being remained still for minutes, all three of them to be precise, until one of them started showing small signs of movement, of life. One of its fingers twitched, and soon afterward it arched its head a bit, taking in its surroundings. It was difficult to predict the being's emotions, but one could argue that it was slightly surprised at even waking at all. It continued looking around a bit, getting used to its surroundings until the other two alien beings regained consciousness as well. All in all it took them quite a while to adjust to their new situations, but in the end they started conversing, albeit softly.

"Prime An-abin, it is good to see you breathing and moving once more; I had thought our slumber was to be near-eternal," said one of the beings with a low cracking voice.

"I had the same thought, Prime Jin-Sulan, although I must say that it pleases me most sincerely to discover that was not to be," said one of the others, this one having a high toned musical voice.

"I concur, Primes. It is most pleasant to find ourselves among the living once more, although the question on the forefront of my mind would be who disturbed our slumber," said the last of the three, again with a lower, slightly cracking voice.

"Ah, Prime Awei-Jin, I agree, it would be most unpleasant to find out we were awakened by mere chance alone. Give me a moment to access our station scanners," said the being with the higher voice as "she" moved towards a section of the wall and placed the four digits of her hand on it. To her left side, a small console slid out of the wall, showing a faint map of the facility. Her fingers moved over the interface quite smoothly for a being that had just awakened from cryosleep, even though it had taken its time to adjust to its surroundings.

"It appears we are alone after all, my fellow Primes. The scanners show no activity or presence within the station, or any kind of it outside the station. It seems we've got ourselves quite a bit of a mystery."

The two other Primes looked at each other with face that could only be interpreted as slightly distraught.

Back on the bridge the crew of the _Into the Abyss_ was watching the scene unfold with careful attention. Apart from the Prothean ruins, this was the first spacefaring alien organism that they had come into contact with.

"Shall we introduce ourselves, Captain?" said Everheart from behind her station.

"It would be prudent, would it not?" replied the Captain, "Selene, could you be so kind as to create a holographic presentation of myself near the three beings."

"Of course, Captain," was the reply.

The three Primes looked at the patch of space in front of them that had been occupied by air only moments ago that now showed them a visual representation of their visitors. The three did not appear to be startled one bit.

"Ah, our visitors, it seems," said one of the Primes.

"Greetings," Jonathan began fluently in their language, "My name is Captain Jonathan Walker, Commanding Officer of the _TCSS Into the Abyss_, which is currently drifting close to your station. Our people, humanity, are a race of peaceful explorers, and wish to greet you with a hand of peace and prosperity."

The three Primes stared at each other, showing something of a smile on their respective faces.

"And we greet you in return, Captain. From your exquisite grasp of our language I would conclude that you already have our names, but in the name of civility, I would introduce myself and my fellow Primes. I am Prime Awei-Jin, and these fine Primes beside me are Jin-Sulan and An-abin of the Oviallan Triumvirate. We return the hand of peace and prosperity you offer."

Walker sighed in relief, glad that the beings seemed perfectly rational.

"I am glad to hear it, Prime Awei-Jin. My crew and I would offer you proper accommodations for establishing formal contact, but we'd like to know a bit more about you before we reveal ourselves, if it isn't too much of a burden."

"Not at all Captain, although my guess would be that you wish to know the reason my fellow primes and I, along with 49997 others of my kind were, or are still slumbering on this station."

"You would be correct," replied Jonathan.

"Then let me start the tale, Captain. But know this, it is a sad one…" said Awei-Jin.

"Our people, the Oviallan, were a peaceful and curious race, not unlike your own stated intentions. We prospered on our planet, where there was little conflict or hardship. The society we had built was one based on virtues, and we respected science most of all. For thousands of years we prospered, eventually discovering ruins of a civilization past on a moon in orbit around the farthest planet in our system. From those ruins we created our first FTL-capable vessel, and we reached a few stars near our own. However, almost like a stroke of bad luck, our own star determined its life was to suddenly accelerate by an extraordinary amount of time, and without warning, our world burned. The planet we called our home became a grave, the very atmosphere capable of killing us within seconds. We had been in space for about a century then, so all was not lost, but instead billions, our race could suddenly be measured in the hundred thousands."

"However, as if one disaster was not enough, soon after our star reached another phase of terror as the radiation it sent out started killing citizens on settlements not on Ovialla, our home planet. We devised a plan to save ourselves, and spent every working hour to complete it, and created this station, which is called an ark. It was one of two completed, and it carries a good portion of the remainder of our people. The station, or ship, as it is capable of FTL flight, was designed to find a suitable planet for us to re-awaken. But in the long years afterwards, searching for a proper planet, our energy reserves dwindled ever so steadily, until there was no more to power our drive core. We decided to activate our final preservation measure, known as the eternal slumber, in the hope that we would one day be found by another species. The ship positioned itself close enough to a star to produce the power required for the pods to remain active for millions of years."

"And now, it seems the day has come for us to humbly ask your species for help, as we have no hope of saving ourselves from doom. We can return to our sleep, but nothing more…" finished the prime.

Most of the crew of the _Into the Abyss_ was flabbergasted that they had found such a thing out here in the vastness of space, but also felt proud that humanity could help life in need, as was their duty bestowed upon them by themselves.

"Your tale is… quite moving, honourable Prime. Whilst I cannot personally offer you what you seek, my superiors certainly can. If it is acceptable to you, I will send over a shuttle to your station, so we may converse in person, and relay our discussion to the people in charge of my mission," said Jonathan, happy to be able to offer help to a dying species.

"That would be perfectly reasonable, Captain. I will have a bay opened for the shuttle presently, and I look forward to meeting you and your species in person," said the Prime with a relieved tone.

"And I look forward to meeting you all as well," replied Jonathan.

He looked at the primes through the interface and smiled, knowing that humanity could make difference for these people.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it for this chapter. I know, it's sort of a cliffhanger, but there will be more. Again, expect the next chapter to be up sometime in the next two weeks, perhaps a bit later (Christmas and all). <strong>

**I'll be doing a bit more of world building before actually meeting a citadel species, but from your comments I have chosen to race to be met, so thanks for that!**

**As always, please Review!**

**PS. The Oviallan look like Kaminoans from Star Wars if you were wondering.**


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